Deployment and the Use of Mental Health Services Among U.S. Army Wives

Deployment is often stressful, not only for Service members, but also for their partners. Using Army wives’ medical records from 2003 to 2006, the association between Service member deployment and wives' mental health visits and diagnoses was examined. Wives whose husbands deployed had more mental health visits and diagnoses than wives whose husbands did not deploy, and longer deployments were also associated with more mental health visits and diagnoses than shorter deployments.