Family Stressors and Resources: Relationships with Depressive Symptoms in Military Couples During Pre-Deployment

It is just as important to engage in preventative interventions to improve military couples' mental health during the pre-deployment period as it is during the deployment and reintegration periods. To assess pre-deployment mental health, this study had 151 National Guard members and spouses completed an online survey regarding their family stressors, resources, and depressive symptoms four weeks before deployment. Results revealed that informal resources (e.g., family functioning) and expanded resources (e.g., instrumental support) were both important for military couples to deal with depressive symptoms.