Abstract
This study examined whether laboratory exposure to traumatic reminders potentiated the relationship between veterans’ posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and intimate partner aggression (IPA) articulations elicited during an anger-induction task. The sample included 82 male Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom veterans. The Articulated Thoughts in Simulated Situations (ATSS) procedure was used to assess physical IPA articulations (i.e., expressions of physically aggressive intentions toward the partner) and verbal IPA articulations (i.e., statements intended to insult or demean the partner) made during “relationship anger” provoking scenarios. Participants were administered versions of the ATSS both with and without trauma cue presentation. Results indicated that trauma cue exposure potentiated the relationship between veterans’ PTSD symptoms and physical IPA articulations, but did not strengthen the significant relationship between PTSD symptoms and verbal IPA articulations. Findings contribute to the literature on veterans’ PTSD symptoms and IPA perpetration by highlighting the influence of traumatic reminders.
Notes
The current study did not examine responses to the neutral ATSS scenarios because there were not sufficient frequencies of IPA articulations during these scenarios (i.e., no physical or verbal IPA articulations were made in the non-trauma cued neutral ATSS scenarios, and very few were made in the trauma-cued neutral ATSS scenarios).
References
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Blake, D. D., Weathers, F. W., Nagy, L. M., Kaloupek, D. G., Gusman, F. D., Charney, D. S., & Keane, T. M. (1995). The development of a clinician-administered PTSD scale. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 8(1), 75–90. doi:10.1002/jts.2490080106.
Byrne, C. A., and Riggs, D. S. (1996). The cycle of trauma: Relationship aggression in male Vietnam veterans with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Violence and Victims, 11(3), 213–225. Retrieved from http://www.springerpub.com/violence-and-victims.html.
Campbell, J. C. (2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. The Lancet, 359(9314), 1331–1336. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08336-8.
Chemtob, C. M., Novaco, R. W., Hamada, R. S., Gross, D. M., & Smith, G. (1997). Anger regulation deficits in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10(1), 17–36. doi:10.1023/A:1024852228908.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Davison, G. C., Robins, C., & Johnson, M. K. (1983). Articulated thoughts during simulated situations: a paradigm for studying cognition in emotion and behavior. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 7(1), 17–39. doi:10.1007/BF01173421.
Davison, G. C., Vogel, R. S., & Coffman, S. G. (1997). Think-aloud approaches to cognitive assessment and the articulated thoughts in simulated situations paradigm. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(6), 950–958. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.65.6.950.
Duclos, S. E., Laird, J. D., Schneider, E., Sexter, M., Stern, L., & Van Lighten, O. (1989). Emotion-specific effects of facial expressions and postures on emotional experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(1), 100–108. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.57.1.100.
Eckhardt, C. I., & Crane, C. (2008). Effects of alcohol intoxication and aggressivity on aggressive verbalizations during anger arousal. Aggressive Behavior, 34(4), 428–436. doi:10.1002/ab.20249.
Ehlers, A., Hackmann, A., & Michael, T. (2004). Intrusive re-experiencing in post-traumatic stress disorder: phenomenology, theory, and therapy. Memory, 12(4), 403–415. doi:10.1080/09658210444000025.
Evans, L., Cowlishaw, S., Forbes, D., Parslow, R., & Lewis, V. (2010). Longitudinal analyses of family functioning in veterans and their partners across treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(5), 611–622. doi:10.1037/a0020457.
Finkel, E. J., DeWall, C. N., Slotter, E. B., Oaten, M., & Foshee, V. A. (2009). Self-regulatory failure and intimate partner violence perpetration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(3), 483–499. doi:10.1037/a0015433.
First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Gibbon, M., & Williams, J. B. W. (2002). Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV-TR axis I disorders, research version (Non-patient Editionth ed.). New York: Biometrics Research, New York State Psychiatric Institute. SCID-I/NP.
Golding, J. M. (1999). Intimate partner violence as a risk factor for mental disorders: a meta-analysis. Journal of Family Violence, 14(2), 99–132. doi:10.1023/A:1022079418229.
Lee, I. A., and Preacher, K. J. (2013). Calculation for the test of the difference between two dependent correlations with one variable in common [Computer software]. Available from http://quantpsy.org.
Monson, C. M., Rodriguez, B. F., & Warner, R. (2005). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD in the real world: Do interpersonal relationships make a real difference? Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(6), 751–761. doi:10.1002/jclp.20096.
Norton, R. (1983). Measuring marital quality: a critical look at the dependent variable. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45(1), 141–151. doi:10.2307/351302.
Orcutt, H. K., King, L. A., & King, D. W. (2003). Male-perpetrated violence among Vietnam veteran couples: relationships with veteran’s early life characteristics, trauma history, and PTSD symptomatology. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16(4), 381–390. doi:10.1023/A:1024470103325.
Parrott, D. J., Drobes, D. J., Saladin, M. E., Coffey, S. F., & Dansky, B. S. (2003). Perpetration of partner violence: effects of cocaine and alcohol dependence and posttraumatic stress disorder. Addictive Behaviors, 28(9), 1587–1602. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2003.08.036.
Powers, M. B., Halpern, J. M., Ferenschak, M. P., Gillihan, S. J., & Foa, E. B. (2010). A meta-analytic review of prolonged exposure for posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(6), 635–641. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.04.007.
Spielberger, C. D. (1988). Manual for the state-trait anger expression inventory. Tampa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Stappenbeck, C. A., & Fromme, K. (2014). The effects of alcohol, emotion regulation, and emotional arousal on the dating aggression intentions of men and women. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28(1), 10–19. doi:10.1037/a0032204.
Steiger, J. H. (1980). Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 87(2), 245–251. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.87.2.245.
Taft, C. T., Kaloupek, D. G., Schumm, J. A., Marshall, A. D., Panuzio, J., King, D. W., & Keane, T. M. (2007a). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, physiological reactivity, alcohol problems, and aggression among military veterans. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116(3), 498–507. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.116.3.498.
Taft, C. T., Street, A. E., Marshall, A. D., Dowdall, D. J., & Riggs, D. S. (2007b). Posttraumatic stress disorder, anger, and partner abuse among Vietnam combat veterans. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(2), 270–277. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.21.2.270.
Taft, C. T., Weatherill, R. P., Woodward, H. E., Pinto, L. A., Watkins, L. E., Miller, M. W., & Dekel, R. (2009). Intimate partner and general aggression perpetration among combat veterans presenting to a posttraumatic stress disorder clinic. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 79(4), 461–468. doi:10.1037/a0016657.
Taft, C. T., Macdonald, A., Monson, C. M., Walling, S. M., Resick, P. A., & Murphy, C. M. (2013). “Strength at home” group intervention for military populations engaging in intimate partner violence: pilot findings. Journal of Family Violence, 28(3), 225–231. doi:10.1007/s10896-013-9496-y.
Weathers, F. W., Keane, T. M., & Davidson, J. T. (2001). Clinician-administered PTSD scale: a review of the first 10 years of research. Depression and Anxiety, 13(3), 132–156. doi:10.1002/da.1029.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a Department of Veterans Affairs Merit Review grant awarded to Casey T. Taft. The contents of this article do not represent the views of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LaMotte, A.D., Taft, C.T., Weatherill, R.P. et al. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Traumatic Reminders, and Partner Aggressive Tendencies Among Veterans. J Fam Viol 31, 461–466 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9776-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9776-9