People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often face significant challenges in communicating and resolving relationship issues with their romantic partners, according to recent research by Steffany Fredman, an associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State. This difficulty is largely rooted in a deep-seated fear of emotions, the study suggests.
Fredman and her team conducted a study involving 64 opposite-sex couples, all of whom had experienced a traumatic life event. The researchers collected data on PTSD symptoms from each partner, examining their perceived negative consequences of strong emotions and their communication habits within their relationships.
The results, published in Behaviour Research and Therapy, show a direct link between PTSD symptoms and an increased fear of emotions. This fear, in turn, was associated with poorer communication, particularly more unproductive interactions, within couples. People with higher PTSD symptoms were found to struggle more with expressing themselves constructively, often resorting to behaviors like avoidance or aggression when faced with emotional conversations.
“In this study, we sought to understand why individuals with PTSD symptoms struggle to resolve relationship conflicts,” Fredman explained. “PTSD often leads to negative self-perceptions and mistrust of others, fostering anger, withdrawal, and emotional numbing. These dynamics place considerable strain on romantic relationships, and addressing these issues is key to healing from PTSD.”
Fredman emphasized that PTSD can create a destructive cycle. Symptoms like aggression and emotional withdrawal can deteriorate relationships, and relationship tension can, in turn, exacerbate PTSD symptoms. This ongoing cycle continues until a change is introduced, she added.
To disrupt this cycle, Fredman has co-developed a couple-based treatment approach for PTSD, focusing on breaking the negative feedback loop between PTSD symptoms and relationship discord. People with PTSD often view their emotions as threats, especially when strong feelings resurface in romantic interactions. These emotions, tied to past trauma, can trigger behaviors like aggression or emotional withdrawal as coping mechanisms.
The study highlights that when partners develop unhealthy coping strategies, strained relationships may reinforce PTSD symptoms. Conversely, couples who can openly communicate and listen to each other can help promote healing.
The research team studied participants with varying levels of PTSD severity, which allowed them to assess how different symptom intensities impacted communication within relationships. Participants were interviewed about their PTSD symptoms, their fear of emotions, and their communication styles, which ranged from constructive problem-solving to demand-withdraw patterns.
In the demand-withdraw communication pattern, one partner pressures the other for a response, while the other partner retreats emotionally, making it difficult to resolve conflicts. This pattern often exacerbates PTSD symptoms by reinforcing negative perceptions of oneself and the relationship.
The study’s findings revealed that individuals with higher PTSD symptoms were more likely to fear their emotions. This fear was strongly linked to less constructive communication and more demand-withdraw dynamics within their relationships. According to Fredman, this is the first study to show that fear of emotions can have tangible consequences on relationship communication, influencing how partners interact with each other.
“Before considering the fear of emotions, we couldn’t draw many direct connections between PTSD symptoms and communication issues,” Fredman noted. “Once we looked at how PTSD symptoms and fear of emotions intersected with communication styles, the patterns became clear. Fear of emotions plays a crucial role in shaping how couples with PTSD symptoms communicate.”
Previous research by Fredman and her colleagues showed that individuals with PTSD struggle to regulate their emotional responses during conversations about their relationships. The new study builds on this by demonstrating that these individuals often view strong emotions as catastrophic and avoid or suppress them, making constructive communication more difficult.
Fredman pointed out that couple therapy has proven effective in reducing PTSD symptoms and improving relationship communication, even in brief sessions. “This latest study adds nuance to our understanding of how PTSD, fear of emotions, and communication difficulties are interconnected,” she said. “It shows why these issues must be addressed simultaneously in treatment.”
The research was conducted in collaboration with Jeesun Lee, a graduate student at Penn State, Yunying Le, a research assistant professor at the University of Denver, Emily Taverna, an Advanced Fellow at the National Center for PTSD, and Amy Marshall, a professor at Virginia Tech. The study was funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Science and several Penn State fellowships.
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