(PS10-53) Associations Between Attachment Security, Symptom Severity, and Relationship Satisfaction in Military Veterans with PTSD

Abstract Text: Previous studies have demonstrated influences of insecure attachment on mental health and relationship outcomes in psychotherapy. This project explores associations between two forms of insecure attachment (anxiety and avoidance), and posttraumatic stress, depression, and relationship satisfaction in a sample of 137, PTSD+ military Veterans receiving couple-based treatment (either PTSD Family Education or brief Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy) with their partners in a randomized controlled trial. At baseline, participants completed the CAPS-5 diagnostic interview for PTSD and ECR-R, BDI-II, and CSI-32 self-report measures to assess attachment, depression, and relationship satisfaction, respectively. For attachment anxiety, secondary analyses identified significant correlations with total PTSD symptoms (r(82) = .270, p = .013), depression (r(82) = .350, p = .001), and relationship satisfaction (r(82) = -.565, p < .001). For attachment avoidance, analyses identified significant correlations with total PTSD symptoms (r(88) = .336, p = .001), depression (r(88) = .314, p = .003), and relationship satisfaction (r(88) = -.629, p < .001). These findings support existing links between insecure attachment and symptom severity at baseline in treatment-seeking military Veterans. Further longitudinal analyses may help elucidate the role of attachment in improvement of outcomes across all treatment conditions and assess potential advantages of addressing attachment security in cognitive-behavioral therapy.