SummaryTraumatic events are a particular type of stressor that may aect police ocers engaged in front line duties. In this study, speci®c types of social support predicted to buer the psychological and physical health eects of trauma are drawn from theory and empirical evidence in the area of post-traumatic stress. Social support, measured as the content of communication, and the ease of talking about trauma was tested with 527 working police ocers who responded to a questionnaire survey. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the communication variables contributed to the variance in post-traumatic stress disorder and physical symptoms with dierential eects for dierent aspects of communication. Analysis of the eects of traumatic stress on symptoms for sub-groups at dierent levels of communication showed that some types of communication, such as the ease of talking about trauma or positive communications about work, moderate the eects of stress for police ocers, in that higher levels are associated with a weaker trauma±strain relationship. However, some types of communication buered stress only at moderate levels and other types may not be protective. These results are discussed in terms of the types and sources of social support that are likely to buer post-traumatic stress at work.

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This study examines the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and interpersonal functioning in a New Zealand community sample of 756 Vietnam War veterans. The results support previous research findings showing that PTSD adversely affects veterans' interpersonal relationships, family functioning, and marital/dyadic adjustment and show that the effects of PTSD on family functioning and dyadic adjustment are mediated by severity of interpersonal problems. It is suggested that higher levels of PTSD affect the ability of veterans to initiate and maintain interpersonal relationships and that these interpersonal problems are evident in poorer levels of family functioning and poorer dyadic adjustment.

The negative aftermath of combat experience on the lives of military personnel has been widely documented. The limited research conducted on the psychological impact of traumatic experiences on soldiers' partners and families also demonstrates substantial adverse effects. This research has provided predominantly quantitative accounts of these effects. The present study involved a qualitative exploration of family functioning and interpersonal relationships as reported by five women partners of Vietnam veterans. The following three broad themes were identified from the interview transcripts: experience (what the situation and interpersonal communication was like); meaning (of being in a veteran's family); and understanding it all (explanations of why it took the form it did). Several subthemes were also identified under the first two of these major themes. These results are discussed in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder, family functioning, and the nature of the response appropriate for families in these situations.