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Female partners' estimations of male veterans' combat‐related PTSD severity
Author(s) -
Gallagher James G.,
Riggs David S.,
Byrne Christina A.,
Weathers Frank W.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1023/a:1024411422586
Subject(s) - posttraumatic stress , concordance , psychiatry , veterans affairs , psychology , clinical psychology , severity of illness , anxiety disorder , medicine , anxiety
This study investigated concordance between male Vietnam veterans' and their female partners' reports of veterans' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Fifty male Vietnam combat veterans and their partners rated the severity of their own PTSD symptoms. Also, partners rated the severity of veterans' symptoms. Results indicated modest levels of agreement in reports of symptom presence/absence. Partner ratings of veterans' PTSD severity were positively correlated with veteran reports and partners' own self‐reported PTSD symptoms. After controlling for veterans' self‐reported symptoms, partners' symptoms significantly predicted their estimates of veterans' avoidance symptoms, but not veterans' reexperiencing or hyperarousal symptoms. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.