Psychological Adjustment of Navy Mothers Experiencing Deployment

This research examined the psychological adjustment and correlates of psychological well-being of deployed Navy mothers compared with a nondeployed control group of Navy women during the same period. 120 participants (aged 20-47) were interviewed prior to a scheduled deployment and completed standardized questionnaires before and after the separation. Data were collected from the comparison group at similar intervals. Single deployed women reported the highest levels of depressive symptomatology. In addition, single women in the deployment condition and married women in the nondeploying comparison group reported the highest levels of anxiety. Several job-related and non-job-related variables predicted Navy mothers' self-reported psychological adjustment, which were their perceptions of social support from friends and spouses, length of military service, length of the most recent separation from families, and marital status.