Article
An Exploratory Study of Attachments and Posttraumatic Stress in Combat Veterans
Current Psychology
(2015)
Abstract
Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate
the potential value of comparing specific attachments to
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in
combat veterans with a new measure of attachments. A case
series of 22 combat veterans in a Veterans Affairs Medical
Center clinic completed PTSD Checklist – Military Version
(PCL-M), Trauma Symptom Inventory - 2nd Edition, and the
Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ) as part
of a pilot study for a larger project. Descriptive statistics and
Pearson correlations were used to examine the data. Although
there were significant negative correlations between self-rated
PTSD symptoms and avoidant (r = −0.44) and ambivalent
(r = −0.55) attachment scores towards their mothers, suggesting
a novel type of enmeshment, positive correlations were
found between PTSD symptoms and avoidant partner attachments
scores (r = 0.47). There were no significant correlations
between the attachment scales to father and PTSD symptoms.
The ACIQ Ambivalent Partner scale was only related to TSI-2
scales Intrusive Experiences (r = −0.44) and Defensive
Avoidance (r = −0.44). An exploratory regression model
using attachment variables identified from correlations and
predicting PCL scores was significant (R2 = 0.48); however,
only Avoidant Partner scale contributed significant variance
(β = 0.42, p = 0.024). The potency of the partner scale
Keywords
- PTSD,
- Combat Veteran,
- RDoC,
- Attachment and psychopathology,
- Combat stress
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall October 20, 2015
DOI
DOI 10.1007/s12144-015-9390-2
Citation Information
Marc A. Lindberg and Robert D Shura. "An Exploratory Study of Attachments and Posttraumatic Stress in Combat Veterans" Current Psychology Vol. October 20 Iss. 2015 (2015) p. 1 - 9 ISSN: 1046-1310 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/marc_lindberg/10/
Creative Commons license
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY-SA International License.