Communication with spouse linked to PTSD levels - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Communication with spouse linked to PTSD levels

Spouses of deployed troops should keep those letters, packages and emails coming.

That is, if your marriage is a good one.

A new study has linked lower levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms with frequent communication from spouses — but only for those with higher levels of marital satisfaction.

But for troops whose marriages were on the rocks, more frequent communication was linked to higher levels of PTSD symptoms, according to the study published in the June edition of the Journal of Traumatic Stress.

“Soldiers who are having marital conflict might instead benefit from seeking support from other sources, including unit members and leaders,” the researchers wrote.

“High marital satisfaction is good for mental health. But this shows that for communication, it seems as if marital satisfaction impacts how that communication is received,” said Sarah Carter, lead researcher for the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado, Denver and University of Denver.

An unexpected finding of the study was that significantly good effects came only from “delayed” communication — letters, emails and care packages.

Other more instantaneous forms of communication, such as telephone, real-time video conference calls and instant messaging had no effect.

The data was collected in 2007 from 193 active-duty soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., who had been deployed within the last year, had some combat exposure, had been married to their civilian wives at least a year and reported either no PTSD symptoms or attributed them at least in part to their military experience. The information was taken from a larger clinical trial of marriage education at the installation.

“I think the big wild card is, we don’t know what PTSD symptoms folks had going in to the deployment,” said Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, director of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University.

Because the study was retrospective — soldiers were recalling their communications — “it’s a little hard to be sure which things came first, particularly pre-existing symptoms of PTSD,” she said.

Soldiers generally were communicating with their spouses daily by phone calls, instant messaging and emails; the most common frequency of letters and care packages was one to two times per month. Those soldiers reported using real-time video conference calls rarely, but about 60 percent of the soldiers used them at least once a month.

Emails could be viewed as either “delayed” or “real-time” communication, Carter said.

One possible reason for the positive impact of letters, emails and packages is that soldiers could save them. “They could go back and look at them when they most needed it and as often as they wanted to, versus a phone call, which offers support, but once you hang up the phone, it’s gone,” Carter said.

Another possible explanation, said Kelly Hruska, government relations deputy director for the National Military Family Association, is that “in written communications, you have the opportunity to edit yourself.”

Carter said researchers are delving further into this area, seeking to avoid retrospective recollections that could color the troops’ memories, she said.

“It’s important to get the response as it’s happening. And it’s important to get it over time so we can more clearly see that connection,” she said.

Despite the study’s limitations, researchers said the findings are consistent with prior research indicating that marital support has value during deployments, and it “may be appropriate to encourage satisfied couples to exchange emails, letters and care packages.”

For those whose marriages are not so strong, programs to help couples strengthen their relationships prior to deployment might increase the potential for spouses to be a source of support during the deployment, the researchers said.