Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Marital Adjustment Among Israeli Combat Veterans: The Role of Loneliness and Attachment

Objective: War trauma may foster ramifications for marital relationships. Veterans may feel that no one can understand them and thus impact their relationships. The current study aims to shed light on the role that posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), loneliness, and attachment orientations may play in marital adjustment among combat veterans. Method: Participants were 504 veterans who served in the Lebanon War in 1982. Results: Analysis revealed that higher PTSS levels were related to lower marital adjustment and that the indirect path of this relation through loneliness was significant. Furthermore, attachment orientations moderated the direct link between PTSS and marital adjustment, but failed to moderate the indirect effect through loneliness. Conclusions: A sense of isolation should be addressed in therapy, as well as the interpersonal expectations of the veteran.