War veteran wives often become indirect victims of their husbands’ traumatic experience. The aim of this research was to explore the experience of secondary traumatization and subjective quality of life in wives of war veterans with diagnosed PTSD and to discuss the need for psychological help. The results have shown that war veterans’ wives suffer from secondary traumatization. However, those who received psychological help report less traumatization symptoms and better subjective quality of life than those who did not receive psychological help. The results of this research indicate the need for psychological treatment and support for whole families, especially the wives of war veterans with PTSD.

quality of life, secondary traumatization, PTSD