Running head: EFFECTS OF PTSD 1 EFFECTS OF PTSD 2 Effects of PTSD on Family Members Gregory A. Baker Argosy University/Atlanta Effects of PTSD on Family Members PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) takes an extraordinary toll on the family in the event that one of their relatives who are in the military endures the condition. The encounters of war are the hazardous precursors to post traumatic stress disorder in numerous military officers as they experience such a variety of damaging circumstances that affect mental strain on the individual. The relatives of the military work force regularly encounter optional injury as an aftereffect of post-traumatic anxiety indications in fighters. Dealing with a cherished one suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder is regularly testing to the family particularly in asset restricted settings and the family is obliged mentally, inwardly, socially, financially and physically. Families of individuals encounter diminished personal satisfaction and feel a huge weight coping with the condition of their loved ones; whereby they experience conjugal strain, which may in the end result in stress and depression. In this paper, it shall be examined, the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder of the military personnel on their family members. A number of peer reviewed literature shall be examined to give insight into the challenges faced by family members of the victims of post-traumatic stress disorder. Comment by Katina Clarke: “I will examine” APA guidelines now allow you to write in first person. Comment by Katina Clarke: Good. Family members experience secondary trauma due to post-traumatic stress symptoms in soldiers who are suffering from PTSD. Symptoms of secondary trauma in spouses and children are at a risk of increasing due to post trauma symptoms in military personnel (Herzog, Everson, & Whitworth, 2011). Secondary traumatic stress clinical manifestations in kids are demonstrated by internalizing instead of externalizing issues. In any case, research studies recommend that doctors working with the affected population should be well conversant with the relationship between posttraumatic symptoms in Soldiers what's more, subsequent psychological trauma in relatives. Secondary post-traumatic symptoms in the young ones of war veterans are a vital theme of consideration as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan proceed (Herzog, Everson, & Whitworth, 2011). These families bear the worry of having a part with battle related wounds, such as depressive disorders. Companions and children of veterans with posttraumatic symptoms endure the concealed harm to themselves. These psychological traumas appear as traumatic anxiety symptoms. Military families have made huge sacrifices and merit to be provided with the best psychological care accessible. It is the responsibility of the society that sends Soldiers off to war to give the most ideal care to them and their relatives upon their return home (Ashley, ...

1. Running head: EFFECTS OF PTSD 1
EFFECTS OF PTSD 2
Effects of PTSD on Family Members
Gregory A. Baker
Argosy University/Atlanta
Effects of PTSD on Family Members
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) takes an extraordinary
toll on the family in the event that one of their relatives who are
in the military endures the condition. The encounters of war are
the hazardous precursors to post traumatic stress disorder in
numerous military officers as they experience such a variety of
damaging circumstances that affect mental strain on the
individual. The relatives of the military work force regularly
encounter optional injury as an aftereffect of post-traumatic
anxiety indications in fighters. Dealing with a cherished one
suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder is regularly testing
to the family particularly in asset restricted settings and the
family is obliged mentally, inwardly, socially, financially and
physically. Families of individuals encounter diminished
personal satisfaction and feel a huge weight coping with the
condition of their loved ones; whereby they experience conjugal
strain, which may in the end result in stress and depression. In
this paper, it shall be examined, the effects of post-traumatic
stress disorder of the military personnel on their family
members. A number of peer reviewed literature shall be

2. examined to give insight into the challenges faced by family
members of the victims of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Comment by Katina Clarke: “I will examine”
APA guidelines now allow you to write in first person.
Comment by Katina Clarke: Good.
Family members experience secondary trauma due to post-
traumatic stress symptoms in soldiers who are suffering from
PTSD. Symptoms of secondary trauma in spouses and children
are at a risk of increasing due to post trauma symptoms in
military personnel (Herzog, Everson, & Whitworth, 2011).
Secondary traumatic stress clinical manifestations in kids are
demonstrated by internalizing instead of externalizing issues. In
any case, research studies recommend that doctors working with
the affected population should be well conversant with the
relationship between posttraumatic symptoms in Soldiers what's
more, subsequent psychological trauma in relatives. Secondary
post-traumatic symptoms in the young ones of war veterans are
a vital theme of consideration as the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan proceed (Herzog, Everson, & Whitworth, 2011).
These families bear the worry of having a part with battle
related wounds, such as depressive disorders. Companions and
children of veterans with posttraumatic symptoms endure the
concealed harm to themselves. These psychological traumas
appear as traumatic anxiety symptoms. Military families have
made huge sacrifices and merit to be provided with the best
psychological care accessible. It is the responsibility of the
society that sends Soldiers off to war to give the most ideal care
to them and their relatives upon their return home (Ashley,
Honzel, Larsen, Justus, & Swick, 2013). Comment by Katina
Clarke: Good
Relatives respond to the way that their cherished one has
experienced a psychological trauma. It is annoying when
somebody you think about experiences a loathsome difficulty.
Furthermore, it is not surprising that individuals respond to the

3. way a damaged relative feels and acts. Hazardous side effects
can make a relative difficult to coexist with or cause him or her
to pull back from whatever remains of the family. It can be
exceptionally troublesome for everybody when these
progressions happen. Similarly, as individuals have distinctive
responses to traumatic encounters, families likewise respond
diversely when a friend or family member is damaged. In the
segment underneath, a wide range of sorts of responses are
portrayed. A family may encounter a significant number of
these responses, or just a couple. The greater part of the
responses portrayed, nonetheless, are basic in families who have
needed to manage trauma. Comment by Katina Clarke:
According to which journal article you researched?
The effect of qualities as time-stable identity attributes on
psychological wellness may be clarified by subsequent
inclinations in how individuals address emotional wellness
issues what's more, how individuals see social support
(Zimmermann, et al., 2014). This study was restricted in its
prescient power because of its cross-sectional method, which
did not permit the researchers to build up clear causal
attributions of sending related stressors, changes in values, and
psychiatric disorders. The sample used was small in size thus
bringing about another impediment (Zimmermann, et al., 2014).
Inferences about the commonness of maladjustment were
additionally challenging, as just self-report estimations were
acquired and no institutionalized symptomatic meetings were
directed as a portion of this study, despite the fact that the
PTSD relates very well to such meetings. The aftereffects of
this study are not promptly pertinent to other subject gatherings.
Herzog et al (20111) examined the effects of exposure to
combat on the military personnel. He assessed the optional and
interceding impacts of battle on the military's children and other
family members. The study found out that there is a close
relationship of battle introduction with injury manifestations,
drug abuse, abusive behavior at home and optional injury side
effects among members of the family of the military personnel.

4. There is strong evidence that close relatives of battle uncovered
Soldiers have elevated amounts of post-traumatic stress issue as
a result of developed secondary stress to children and family
members. PTSD has been a facilitating factor to developing
secondary stress in family members of military personnel who
are suffering from the condition. Herzog (2011) proceed to
recommend primary preventive approach to family the members
of PTSD victims in order to avoid the devastating effects of
post-traumatic stress exposure of the family members.
PTSD patients show a unique attention bias as a response to
trauma related words hence emotional Stoop affects most
families with such patients. The veterans tend to habituate the
traumatic stimuli with time and the interventions that can be
used to manage these military personnel include systematic
exposure (Ashley, Honzel, Larsen, Justus, & Swick, 2013). A
number of scholars have associated post-traumatic stress
disorder with increased incidences of risk taking behavior
among the victims (Svetlicky, Soloman, Levi, & Lubin, 2010).
The increased risk taking behaviors is likely to impact the
family negatively as family members try to adapt to the new
condition in the family. Additionally, deployment of soldiers
away from their homes is associated with mental challenges
which may be very traumatizing to the family members in the
event the soldiers are released of their duties (Vermetten, et al.,
2014). Much attention need to be taken in the military care to
enhance coping of the military personnel hence reduce the cases
of post-traumatic stress disorder (Zimmermann, et al., 2014).
In a study of the welfare of the spouses of war veterans, Hayes
et al (2010) realized that spouses of war veterans go through a
great deal of stress in taking care of the family members who
have been exposed to the traumatizing experiences of war.
Significant problems are noted in marriages leading dysfunction
of the families of victims of Post-traumatic stress disorder of
the war veterans. A large of the affected families reported
higher cases of marital violence as compared to non PTSD
affected families (Hayes, et al., 2010). Families assume a

5. critical part in the veterans' recuperation and rearrangement.
How introduction to injury influences families, specifically
mates and conferred accomplices, is vital for the long haul ideal
results of the veteran's recovery from post exposure stress.
The cost dealing with PTSD has been on the rise with an
estimated increase of 49.8% by the year 2017 (Kilmer, Eibner,
Ringel, & Pacula, 2011). Family members undertake the
financial burden of taking care of their PTSD patient hence
draining the financial resources of the family. Many families
can no longer afford basic necessities as a result of the financial
constraints. Kilmer et al (2012) asserts that the increasing
evidence based practice in the management of PTSD can go a
long way in decreasing costs of managing the condition.
The current health care systems, most specifically those dealing
with the welfare of war veterans have been in-efficient in
dealing with the problem of post-traumatic stress disorder
(Wheeler & Bragin, 2007). According to Wheel and Bragin
(2007), the war veterans bring home all the stress and the
depression from the battle field into their homes, hence
influencing negatively the progress of such families. It is
prudent that nothing is done (in form psychological
intervention) to the family members of these war veterans.
PTSD has hence been treated as a medical condition requiring
closed interventions (Wheeler & Bragin, 2007). Comment by
Katina Clarke: Good
PTSD includes long-term adjustment of physiological and
psychological functioning taking after presentation to
horrendous occasions, and commonly includes intrusive
subjective and passionate marvels for example, bad dreams,
flashbacks, memory deficiencies and inclinations in attention
distribution. Such symptoms can be debilitating and disruptive
to the normal functioning of the family. Studies have shown that
post traumatic distress victims have unique bias for trauma
related words hence the need for psychological interventions
such as exposure therapy (Ashley, Honzel, Larsen, Justus, &
Swick, 2013). This is likely to prevent family members form the

6. devastating effects of PTSD. Comment by Katina Clarke: See
APA guidelines for in-text citation of 5 or more authors.
Long term effects of PTSD to both the victims and their family
members can be minimized greatly if these cases are identified
early and granted access to available up to date psychological
interventions. Despite high incidences of PTSD, there is little
information on the accessibility of the psychological services to
family members and the victims of PTSD (Shiner, Drake, Watts,
Desai, & Schnurr, 2012). Facilitating access to the much-needed
psychological assistance has been proposed as the best way
forward towards eliminating the long-term effects of PTSD.
PTSD comes along with a number of related morbidities that
result in an increase in the utilization of health care. Utilization
of evidence-based practice has shown much improvement in the
prevention of related effects of PTSD. In spite of the
availability of improved health care services, there still exist a
number of barriers to health care service accessibility. Lack of
information dissemination among the affected groups, stigma
related issues and institutional barriers stand out one of the
most causes of inaccessibility to health care services by the
veterans (Ouimette, et al., 2011).
Stress sensitization has also been advocated in the reduction of
combat related PTSD (Smid, Kleber, Rademaker, van Zuiden, &
Vermetten, 2013). Increased cases of PTSD have been
associated with earlier exposures to stress hence less exposure
and psychological interventions have been advocated for
prevention of the condition. Post exposure stress disorder can
be challenging to both the individual and their family members.
PTSD takes a major financial toll in its treatment and
management. Family members are most affected and there need
to be a way of incorporating family members when dealing with
the condition. Evidence based approach to the management of
the conditions is recommended for efficient results.

7. References
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Taylor, L. M., Weigmann, P. B., . . . DeSouza, C. M. (2010).
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