Publication year
2016
Citation Title
Deployment-related benefit finding and postdeployment marital satisfaction in military couples.
Journal Name
Family Process
DOI
10.1111/famp.12249
Summary
The effect of deployment on marriage is often perceived negatively, and the potential benefit of deployment is relatively less studied. Sixty-seven military couples with husbands who had been back from deployment for over one year completed surveys about benefit finding (i.e., thinking positively in stressful situations), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and marital satisfaction. Results suggested that wives' deployment-related benefit finding was more influential than husbands' on military couples' relationships.
Key Findings
Reports of benefit finding in Service members and wives were only weakly related to each other.
Wives’, but not Service members’, deployment-related benefit finding was significantly related with Service members’ relationship satisfaction.
Service members’ PTSD severity was associated with both wives’ and Service members’ relationship satisfaction.
Implications for Program Leaders
Develop workshops that help military couples to see the benefit of deployment on their relationships and personal growth (e.g., self-reliance)
Offer support groups for military spouses who are experiencing deployment of their Service members
Create family activities that allow military couples to engage with each other and express feelings about deployment
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to offer support to military spouses to facilitate their personal growth
Recommend professionals who work with military spouses to pay special attention to their needs during their spouses’ deployment
Raise awareness of the importance of deployment-related benefit finding for military couples’ relational satisfaction and well-being
Methods
Participants were recruited through marital enrichment workshops via a larger study on romantic relationships in military couples.
Each couple completed a self-report survey at the beginning of the study, and a follow-up survey four to six months afterwards; the attrition rate for the follow-up survey was 31%.
Measures included posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, relationship satisfaction, and deployment-related benefit finding.
Associations among benefit finding, PTSD symptom severity and relationship satisfaction were analyzed.
Participants
The sample included 67 married couples; the husbands were all Service members who had been back from deployment for a little over one year.
The husbands were mostly White (94%) with a mean age of 35.67 years (SD = 8.49), and they served in the Army National Guard or Reserves (84%) and the Air National Guard or Reserves (16%).
The spouses were female and mostly White (93%) with a mean age of 33.17 years (SD = 7.81).
Limitations
All couples were married with husbands as Service members and wives as civilians, therefore the results may be hard to generalize to unmarried military couples, couples with wives as Service members, or dual military couples.
All couples were recruited from marital enrichment workshops, so they might be different from couples who did not attend such workshops.
The measures were administered several months after the deployment, so it is possible that military couples’ deployment-related benefit finding may have changed since their deployment.
Avenues for Future Research
Increase the diversity of the sample by recruiting participants of different race/ethnicity
Explore military couples’ deployment-related benefit finding at different stages of deployment cycle
Examine factors that influence Service members’ and military spouses’ benefit finding
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
Extensive research has evaluated potential negative effects of military deployments on romantic relationships. Comparatively few studies have examined potential positive effects of such deployments. In stressful situations, benefit finding (BF) has been found to be linked with better functioning on both individual and interpersonal levels. This study reports on deployment-related BF in a sample of 67 male service members (SMs) who deployed at least once since 9/11/2001 and their wives. Couples completed measures of marital satisfaction at baseline (an average of 1 year postdeployment) and follow-up 4–6 months later. At follow-up, SMs also provided data on symptoms of posttraumatic stress, and both partners provided reports of deployment-related BF. Multivariate path analysis controlling for SMs' PTSD symptom severity revealed that wives' BF was positively associated with increases in SMs' relationship satisfaction. These findings suggest that wives' responses to deployment may be more influential than SMs' responses to deployment on military couples' relationships. This pattern indicates that support for spouses during deployments is essential; furthermore, such support should include an emphasis on trying to facilitate personal growth in spouses.
Abstract Document
PRTW Document
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