A Dyadic Exploration of the Associations Between Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Posttraumatic Growth Among Combat Veterans and Their Parents: The Role of Distress Tolerance

Objective: Indirect exposure to traumatized combat veterans may facilitate positive transformations in the form of posttraumatic growth (PTG) among family members. We aimed to use a dyadic approach to explore the association between veterans’ and parents’ posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and their PTG and that of their parents’ secondary PTG (SPTG), as well as to examine the moderating role of distress tolerance (DT) in these associations. Method: A volunteer sample of 102 dyads of Israeli combat veterans and their parents responded to online validated self-report questionnaires. Results: Veterans’ PTG was positively correlated with parents’ SPTG. Moreover, parents’ secondary PTSS was associated with higher levels of their own SPTG and their veteran offspring’s PTG. Furthermore, veterans’ DT contributed to lower levels of their own PTSS and their PTG, but the moderation effects of DT were not found. Conclusions: Parents’ experience of secondary PTSS, which refers to their offspring’s military service, may be also associated with their offspring higher levels of PTG.