How does Spousal Communication affect PTSD Symptoms during Deployments?

How Does Spousal Communication affect PTSD Symptoms during Deployments?

Reaching beyond the yellow ribbon. (n.d.). Military Missions. Retreived November 4, 2012, from http://www.military-missions.org

            When a solider is deployed the only way of communication is through letters, care packages, e-mails, phone calls, and instant messages. The picture above reminded me of when we would send my father care packages when he was deployed four times back to back starting in 2004

 The fun part was getting together all his favorite snacks such as, strawberry cookies, fishes (the candy), Mike and Ikes, etc. My siblings and I would also add something special to the package to remind him of us such as school painting, pictures, and notes reminding him how much we love and miss him. My dad would also send us gifts back. I have gotten a big warm wool blanket for my bed, a bear necklace, and a camouflage backpack with my name written in the Afghanistan language.

            Social support has a strong impact on post-traumatic stress disorder. The high rate of Marriages in the military, technology advancements, and deployment frequency and length grab researchers’ attention to see how they communicate. Four hundred-seventy six army couples were chosen from Fort Campbell, Kentucky to participate in the study to determine which communication affects PTSD symptoms (Carter 2011).  The psychometrically validated civilian version of the PSTD checklist of seventeen items was used to measure the symptoms of PTSD. Marital communication was evaluated by how often each method of communication was used with their spouse. Phone calls, instant messaging, and e-mails were used daily. Letters and care packages were used one to two times a month (Carter 2011).

            Interactive communication (phone calls, e-mails, and instant messages) can cause higher PTSD symptoms than delayed communication (care packages and letters). Delayed communication is more personal and is a constant reminder of their loved ones versus having a phone call that only last for a few minutes (Carter 2011).

            During my father’s first deployment to Kuwait in 2004, we communicated more through video instant messaging, phone calls, and care packages.  With each deployment, to Iraq and Afghanistan every other year after 2004,we communicated less due to his unit not being stable in one area, and each time he returned he came back a different person. My father once was an energetic person. On the weekends we would always get on and do activities as a family such as going bowling, to the movies, or site seeing and traveling to different cities. Now my dad has extremely poor communication with us. There are days when he would just leave the house without letting anyone know where he is going. Other days he would tell my mother goodbye in the mornings and walk past my siblings and me. Going to work and sitting on the couch and watching television is all my dad likes to do. I believe if we would have communicated more throughout all four of his deployments, his PTSD symptoms might have not been as severe.  

Article Cited:

Carter, S., et al. (2011 June).  Relationships between soldier’s PTSD symptoms and spousal communication during deployments. Journal of Traumatic Stress. Retrieved October 8, 2012, from the Academic Search Complete database.