Military service can have significant effects on individual development and relationships. Among these effects are traumatic experiences such as combat exposure, which often lead to psychological distress and social withdrawal that may also impact romantic partnerships. This study investigates how trauma-induced emotional withdrawal affects sexual communication, relational intimacy, and trust in military couples.
The most common form of trauma-related relationship difficulty is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), characterized by avoidance symptoms. In PTSD, individuals experience persistent reactions to reminders of their trauma, including flashbacks, hypervigilance, and hyperarousal. These symptoms can interfere with daily functioning and relationships. Emotional withdrawal refers to a pattern of decreased engagement with others, resulting from either anxiety about closeness or depression due to loss of connection.
Withdrawal has been linked to poorer marital quality and lower levels of relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and commitment in civilian populations.
This association is understudied in military couples.
Research suggests that withdrawal may negatively impact couple's sexual communication, especially for women, who report higher rates of avoidance than men.
Research on the relationship between trauma and sexuality finds that traumatic events decrease arousal, desire, and pleasure in both men and women. This finding could explain why withdrawal may further deteriorate sexual communication in trauma-affected couples. Withdrawal may reduce motivation for sex, limit sexual initiation, make it more difficult to talk openly about sexual needs, and lead to feelings of rejection during sexual encounters.
Withdrawal may decrease trust and intimacy, as partners perceive emotional distance and less accessibility to shared experiences.
Trauma-induced emotional withdrawal can have negative effects on sexual communication, relational intimacy, and trust in military couples. Future research should examine how other types of trauma (e.g., combat exposure) and other forms of withdrawal (e.g., physical injury) affect these outcomes. Further exploration of gender differences in sexual response after trauma is also warranted.
How does the experience of trauma-induced emotional withdrawal influence sexual communication, relational intimacy, and trust in military couples?
There are several ways in which traumatic experiences can impact the sexual communication, relational intimacy, and trust in military couples. Firstly, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common diagnosis that affects many veterans who have served in combat zones. PTSD can cause symptoms such as hyperarousal, re-experiencing, avoidance, and numbing.