National Guard Families After Combat: Mental Health, Use of Mental Health Services, and Perceived Treatment Barriers

Mental health symptoms, use of provided mental health services, and perceived barriers to service utilization were assessed among members of the National Guard and their spouses/partners. In this sample, over a third of participants indicated having at least one mental health problem. Service members most often cited embarrassment-related reasons for not utilizing mental health care, whereas female partners indicated more pragmatic reasons for not utilizing these services.