Military and nonmilitary stressors associated with mental health outcomes among female military spouses

Abstract

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.