Secondary traumatic stress, dissociative and somatization symptoms in spouses of veterans with PTSD in Zahedan, Iran

INTRODUCTION Secondary traumatic stress is a disorder which occurs in spouses and people with close relation to someone with posttraumatic stress disorder. Like PTSD, it seems that STS also occurs with other psychiatric problems like somatization and dissociation. This study aimed to determine the relationship between STS and somatization and dissociation symptoms. METHODS This cross-sectional study was done in 2015 and lasted for one year. Self-report questionnaires assessing secondary traumatic stress symptoms, dissociation symptoms and somatization symptoms were distributed among spouses of veterans with PTSD in Zahedan, Iran. The relationship between STS symptoms and somatization symptoms and also between STS symptoms and dissociation symptoms were determined by Pearson correlation test. SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis. RESULTS Occurrence of secondary traumatic stress symptoms were correlated with dissociation symptoms and also with somatization symptoms. CONCLUSIONS As the rate of secondary traumatic stress rose, the rate of somatization and dissociation symptoms in spouses of veterans increased.