The effects of stress on the psychological well-being of army wives: initial findings from a longitudinal study

Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in United States military spouses: The Millennium Cohort Family Study

BACKGROUND

Approximately half of US service members are married, equating to 1.1 million military spouses, yet the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among military spouses remains understudied. We assessed the prevalence and correlates of eight mental health conditions in spouses of service members with 2-5 years of service.

METHOD

We employed baseline data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study, a 21-year longitudinal survey following 9,872 military-affiliated married couples representing all US service branches and active duty, Reserve, and National Guard components. Couples were surveyed between 2011 and 2013, a period of high military operational activity associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Primary outcomes included depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic, alcohol misuse, insomnia, somatization, and binge eating, all assessed with validated self-report questionnaires.

RESULTS

A total of 35.90% of military spouses met criteria for at least one psychiatric condition. The most commonly endorsed conditions were moderate-to-severe somatization symptoms (17.63%) and moderate-to-severe insomnia (15.65%). PTSD, anxiety, depression, panic, alcohol misuse, and binge eating were endorsed by 9.20%, 6.65%, 6.05%, 7.07%, 8.16%, and 5.23% of spouses, respectively. Having a partner who deployed with combat resulted in higher prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, and somatization. Spouses had lower prevalence of PTSD, alcohol misuse, and insomnia but higher rates of panic and binge eating than service members. Both members of a couple rarely endorsed having the same psychiatric problem.

CONCLUSIONS

One third of junior military spouses screened positive for one or more psychiatric conditions, underscoring the need for high-quality prevention and treatment services.

Employment and Role Satisfaction: Implications for the General Well-Being of Military Wives

A path analytic model was used to examine the impact of three domains of life satisfaction and three employment-related variables on general well-being in a sample of 1,145 Army wives. The life domains included marital, financial, and role satisfaction. The employment-related variables included: (a) time spent employed (none, part, or full); (b) role fit; and (c) satisfaction with overall career development prospects. The employment-related variables were hypothesized to impact on general well-being both directly and indirectly through their relationship to role satisfaction. Time spent employed and role fit were found to be significantly related to role satisfaction, which in turn, was significantly related to general well-being. One variable—satisfaction with overall career development prospects—had a significant direct impact on general well-being.

Perceptions of influence on child's competence among fathers in the military context

This study compared the beliefs of fathers serving in the military with those of a matched sample of civilian fathers on the time spent with their kindergarten child and their perceptions of their influence as well as their spouse's influence on their child's cognitive and emotional competence. Parents are considered prime agents of change during early childhood. However, fathers who serve in the military face challenges unique to this context and reflective of the frequent and intense demands on their time and attention. Results suggest that, in a time of peace, military and civilian fathers share similar perceptions and time reported spent with their child. Mothers were perceived to be equivalent in their influence to the military father.

Life events and symptomatic recovery of army spouses following Operation Desert Storm

The relation between life events and psychiatric symptoms among wives of soldiers deployed to the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm (ODS) was examined. Psychiatric symptoms were measured, using the 25-item Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL), at two times, once while the soldiers were away and a second time several months after they returned. In a multiple regression analysis, symptoms at Time 2 were predicted by post-Desert Storm events as well as by events and emotional stressors that occurred during the military operation. The strongest predictor of post-Desert Storm events was pre-Desert Storm events. The impact of the deployment was also assessed on the basis of respondents' symptom profiles over time. Although 70% of the respondents were symptomatic during the deployment, 40% had recovered by Time 2; only 24% were symptomatic at both times. Even in the latter group, there was an improvement in symptoms between Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2).