Experiences of Wives of Veterans Suffering from Combat-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Abstract Background War as a cause of psychological trauma can lead to unfortunate events in human life. Trauma experienced by one of the family members can affect other members of that family as well. Family members, especially spouses, experience trauma due to permanent encounter with signs of Combat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study was conducted to investigate the experiences of the veterans’ wives. Methods The present qualitative study was conducted on 12 veterans’ wives aging 37-50 years. The subjects were selected through purposeful sampling from Bonyad Consultancy Center from early April to late September, 2012. Data were collected using focused group discussion and analyzed through conventional content analysis approach. Results The participants’ experiences were categorized into two main themes and 5 sub-themes. The extracted themes included “disease and family reaction” and “coping with the disease” and the sub-themes included “negative emotions”, “living together but not intimately”, “reprehension and disease stigmatization”, “support motivation”, and “dual role-play”. Conclusion The results of this study demonstrated that Combat PTSD had a negative effect on family members, especially wives. Thus, eliminating this problem requires health and educational interventions