Weathering the storm? The impact of trauma on romantic relationships

• A trauma experience can be operationalized in different ways.
• Trauma-related stress undermines relationship processes and quality.
• Trauma can also enhance relationship processes (e.g., via posttraumatic growth).
• Some partners are resilient or vulnerable in the face of trauma-related stress.
• We introduce the Dyadic Responses to Trauma Model.

The current paper reviews the recent literature examining the impact of trauma on romantic relationships. We introduce the Dyadic Responses to Trauma (DRT) Model as a framework for organizing existing research and guiding future research. A traumatic event affects romantic relationships for the better or for the worse depending on the diverse trauma-related experiences people can have, influencing the way partners interact with each other and ultimately the quality of the relationship. In addition, recent research demonstrates how romantic partners can demonstrate resiliency in spite of a negative trauma experience depending on how they interpret and cope with the experience individually and as a couple.