PTSD, play, and relationship satisfaction in OEF/OIF veterans

Veterans returning from service in Afghanistan (OEF) and Iraq (OIF) may have experienced intense warfare, which can contribute to negative mental health issues, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD has been repeatedly linked with poorer relationship functioning. Past research on PTSD and relationship functioning has focused primarily on negative outcomes with limited research on positive influences that function within the relationship for increasing relationship satisfaction. One positive strategy to promote relationship functioning is through shared leisure activities. However, PTSD may interfere with Veterans' ability to either participate or enjoy such activities. To my knowledge, no studies have examined these topics in OEF/OIF Veterans. To address this gap, this study explored Veteran's appraisal of shared leisure with their intimate partners with increased specificity regarding frequency and affect during various types of such activities. I hypothesized that less frequent shared leisure, greater negative affect during leisure, and/or less positive affect during leisure would mediate associations between PTSD and relationship satisfaction in this sample. A sample of 68 OEF/OIF Veterans provided self-report data on these constructs. A unique contribution of this study was the development and initial testing of psychometric properties of the Positive Leisure Activities with You (PLAY). In general, the results of this study demonstrate that the pilot measure tested in this sample is a reliable and valid measure of shared leisure activity. The evidence as a whole supports the basic validity of the PLAY subscales. When proceeding to hypothesis testing, there were unexpected findings regarding the interrelationships between PTSD, PLAY and relationship satisfaction. One significant correlation was found between PTSD avoidance symptoms and relationship satisfaction; no other PTSD and relationship satisfaction associations were significant. Also, PTSD was not associated with frequency of PLAY. There were interesting patterns regarding significant associations between PTSD and negative affect during PLAY. Finally, results confirmed prior literature regarding the associations between shared leisure and relationship satisfaction. Overall, these results provides some support for promoting shared leisure activities, with consideration of the affective experience and the potential impact of PTSD symptoms, to increase relationship satisfaction.