The roles of spirituality and adult romantic attachment in responses to exposure to trauma and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder in nonclinical military couples

This study investigated the salutogenic or health-enhancing roles of spiritual orientation and adult romantic attachment in response to traumatic exposure. Mediator and moderator analysis was employed to examine possible causal relationships between (a) traumatic exposure, spiritual orientation, and adult romantic attachment and (b) the relative presence or absence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms following exposure to traumatic events. Hypotheses were derived from theory and research pertaining to spirituality, attachment theory, adult romantic attachment, PTSD, and literature on trauma resilience.; An ethnically diverse nonclinical sample of 44 military couples (88 adults) completed the Experience in Close Relationship questionnaire, the Spirituality Orientation Inventory, the Self-Report Inventory for Disorders of Extreme Stress, the Traumatic Antecedents Questionnaire, the PTSD Checklist, the Traumatic Events Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire that inquired about military history, military rank, religious affiliation, religious attendance, and spiritual practice.; Statistical analyses found a significant, negative correlation between spiritual orientation and adult romantic attachment. Spiritual orientation was positively related to PTSD symptoms, as was adult romantic attachment. Mediator and moderator analyses were conducted and possible causal models of PTSD resiliency were proposed. Increased spirituality was found to moderate PTSD symptoms after traumatic exposure. Increased adult romantic attachment, specifically secure style, was found to mediate PTSD symptoms after traumatic exposure.; Ancillary analyses found that 87.5% of the sample had experienced at least one traumatic event. The lifetime PTSD prevalence for the sample was 6.8%. No gender or ethnicity differences were noted for exposure to trauma or development of PTSD symptoms. Spiritual orientation was significantly higher among women, but no ethnicity differences were observed. Religious importance was not significantly higher for non-Caucasian subjects, and no gender differences were found.; These findings suggest that stronger levels of spirituality may mitigate the adverse effects of exposure to trauma and adult romantic attachment secure style. If distressed by traumatic symptoms, couples that have high levels of spirituality and a secure style of attachment may significantly reduce traumatic distress and mitigate the development of PTSD. This study suggests that spirituality be included in models of health, prevention, and treatment strategies.