Finding the precise distance: Self-differentiation, marital relationship and trauma among ex-combatants’ spouses

Background: Spouses of ex-combatants often experience psychological distress due to sharing their lives with a partner who endured traumatic experiences, a phenomenon known as “secondary traumatization”. Self-differentiation is the emotional distance one takes, while keeping an amount of togetherness with significant others. The couple's relationship and self-differentiation can impact the manner and expanse of secondary traumatization experienced by the spouse. Objective: This study aimed to examine the role of marital adjustment and self-differentiation (an enmeshed vs detached differentiation style), in secondary traumatization among spouses of ex-combatants. Methods: This study is part of a longitudinal study examining psychological implications of war among Israeli ex-combatants and their spouses. Overall, 267 spouses have been assessed three times (2003;2011;2016). Participants completed self-report questionnaires evaluating secondary PTSD (SPS), general psychiatric distress (GPD), self-differentiation and dyadic adjustment (DAS). Cross-path models were used to assess associations between the variables longitudinally. Results: Associations were found between both self-differentiation and dyadic adjustment and SPS and GPD. Path models showed that fusion\cutoff differentiation predicted more SPS\GPD over time and vice-versa. Furthermore, dyadic adjustment mediated the association between fusion\cutoff differentiation and SPS\GPD. In other words, fusion\cutoff differentiation in time 1 predicted dyadic adjustment in time 2, which in turn predicted SPS\GPD in time 3. Conclusions: Our results can be interpreted in conjunction with original theories about secondary traumatization, emphasizing the importance of keeping a balanced emotional distance in the marital relationship as a way of reducing distress and PTSD symptoms following traumatic events.