2021/09/13 by Kathrine S. Sullivan, Kathrine Sullivan, Yangjin Park +1 · 19 citations
Health Professions · Medicine · Psychology · #Anxiety #Clinical psychology #Context (archaeology) #Depression (economics) #Employment and Welfare Studies #Interpersonal communication #Intrapersonal communication #Medicine #Mental health #Migration, Health and Trauma #Military personnel #Military service #Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research #Psychiatry #Psychology #Social psychology #Spouse #Stressor
paper · doi:10.1111/fare.12589
published in Family Relations 71(1), 371-388 (Wiley)
crossref issued 2021/09/13 · crossref published 2021/09/13 · crossref published-online 2021/09/13 · openalex publication_date 2021/09/13 · crossref created 2021/09/13 · crossref published-print 2022/02/01 · crossref deposited 2023/08/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/08/02 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
Abstract Objective This study uses a stress process framework and person‐centered methods to describe patterns of concurrent stressors across multiple domains and to associate patterns with female military spouse mental health. Background Most military families are resilient. However, a subset of military spouses experiences adverse outcomes in the context of war‐related stress. To date, a focus on military‐specific stressors has largely obscured the effects of stress unrelated to military service on the well‐being of military spouses. Methods Data were drawn from a 2012 survey of 343 U.S. Army spouses, measuring intrapersonal (e.g., adverse childhood experiences), family (e.g., work–family conflict), and military stressors (e.g., cumulative deployments). Outcomes included moderate or more severe depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results The three‐step method of latent class analysis identified three classes: low (58.86% of participants), moderate (21.62%), and high (19.52%) stress. Prevalence of mental health problems was significantly elevated in the high‐stress class. In this group, 35.3%, 36.3%, and 39.5% of spouses' screenings indicated at least moderate depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptomatology, compared with 3.0%, 3.9%, and 2.7% in the low‐stress group. Conclusions Results suggest many military spouses have low stress exposure across domains and low rates of mental health symptoms. However, a subset of spouses may experience both intrapersonal and family‐level risk associated with elevated rates of mental health problems. Implications Findings highlight the critical role of nonmilitary stressors in the lives of military spouses and the importance of assessing for and providing support to spouses around these issues.