Depressive Symptoms Among US Military Spouses During Deployment: The Protective Effect of Positive Emotions

Using the Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions, the relationships among stress, positivity, and depressive symptoms were examined in a sample of military spouses during deployment (N = 367). Over one-third of the spouses reported moderately severe levels of depressive symptoms. After controlling for demographic and deployment variables, stress had a positive association with depressive symptoms (b = .59, p < .001), while positivity had a negative association (b = .39, p < .001). Positivity was also found to play a moderating role on the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms (b = .29, p < .001). Spouses with lower positivity reported more depressive symptoms at both low and high levels of stress compared to those with higher positivity. The final model, including both direct and moderating variables, accounted for 69 percent of the total variance in depressive symptoms. Practical implications are discussed in terms of the importance of developing positivity in military spouses.