Family of Origin Stress, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, and Resource Loss for Couples During COVID-19: A Longitudinal Analysis.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Family of Origin Stress, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, and Resource Loss for Couples During COVID-19: A Longitudinal Analysis.
Authors: Barrow, Betsy Hughes, Banford Witting, Alyssa, Bean, Roy A., Bradford, Angela B.
Source: Journal of Loss & Trauma. 2024, Vol. 29 Issue 8, p865-885. 21p.
Subjects: Families & psychology, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Risk assessment, Mental health, Questionnaires, Descriptive statistics, Family relations, Stay-at-home orders, Longitudinal method, Psychology, Psychological stress, Cisgender people, Mathematical models, Theory, Comparative studies, Data analysis software, COVID-19 pandemic, Loss (Psychology), Psychosocial factors
Geographic Terms: United States
Abstract: Few studies have addressed the influence of mass stressors in the context of couple relationships; therefore, understanding how unique constraints and stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced mental health distress and, in turn, loss in couple relationships is valuable. Because resource loss has been defined as the primary agent of stress, examining factors that may have shaped the degree of resource loss incurred during the pandemic will be vital. Previous research implies that early life adversity may be a form of resource loss and is linked to poorer mental health and relational outcomes in adulthood. Additionally, the stress sensitization hypothesis posits that childhood adversity may prime individuals to have a lower threshold for later life stress. As such, this study was designed to examine how family of origin stress (reported at the outset of pandemic related shutdowns in the US in April 2020) associated with posttraumatic stress (PTSS) 3 months later (July 2020) to, in turn, predict variation in resource losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic reported 3 months later (October 2020) in 535 cisgender, heterosexual couples. Findings showed that individual's higher family of origin stress predicted higher levels of their own PTSS at wave 2, and higher PTSS at wave 2 predicted higher levels of couples' shared resource loss at wave 3. Additionally, family of origin stress is associated with higher levels of couples' shared experience of loss via higher levels of their own PTSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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Abstract:Few studies have addressed the influence of mass stressors in the context of couple relationships; therefore, understanding how unique constraints and stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced mental health distress and, in turn, loss in couple relationships is valuable. Because resource loss has been defined as the primary agent of stress, examining factors that may have shaped the degree of resource loss incurred during the pandemic will be vital. Previous research implies that early life adversity may be a form of resource loss and is linked to poorer mental health and relational outcomes in adulthood. Additionally, the stress sensitization hypothesis posits that childhood adversity may prime individuals to have a lower threshold for later life stress. As such, this study was designed to examine how family of origin stress (reported at the outset of pandemic related shutdowns in the US in April 2020) associated with posttraumatic stress (PTSS) 3 months later (July 2020) to, in turn, predict variation in resource losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic reported 3 months later (October 2020) in 535 cisgender, heterosexual couples. Findings showed that individual's higher family of origin stress predicted higher levels of their own PTSS at wave 2, and higher PTSS at wave 2 predicted higher levels of couples' shared resource loss at wave 3. Additionally, family of origin stress is associated with higher levels of couples' shared experience of loss via higher levels of their own PTSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:15325024
DOI:10.1080/15325024.2024.2316110