Conscripted without Induction Order: Wives of Former Combat Veterans with PTSD Speak

This study examines the lives of wives who are living with former combat soldiers with chronic PTSD, from the subjective perspective of the wives themselves. Structured interviews with 20 wives indicated the following main results: 1) About 2/3 of the wives reported that, for a long time, they did not know what the problem with their husband was and had no idea that it was connected to his military experience. 2) All of the wives described many negative effects of their husband’s situation on daily family functioning. In most cases, the wives described their husbands as handicapped individuals who could do very few things that are usually associated with normal family functioning. 3) Most wives described their husbands as “absent-present”: The husband was present physically but would often detach himself from everyone around him. 4) Most wives reported suffering from anxieties of all kinds and other symptoms, which also characterized their husbands. Study results are discussed in light of relevant theories.