Publication year
2016
Citation Title
Staying connected on the home front: communication and well-being of civilian spouses during deployment.
Journal Name
Journal of Family Studies
Page Numbers
1-18
DOI
10.1080/13229400.2016.1248856
Summary
Survey data were used to examine the association between the frequency of asynchronous (e.g., letters, email) and synchronous (e.g., telephone, video) communication on marital quality and psychological well-being (i.e., anxiety, depression, sleep, and loneliness) of civilian spouses during their husband's deployment. The frequency of asynchronous and synchronous communication during deployment influenced spouses' psychological well-being and marital quality differently.
Key Findings
Synchronous communication most commonly occurred via telephone, while asynchronous communication most commonly occurred via e-mail or Internet.
Increased use of asynchronous communication during deployment was associated with increased marital quality and psychological well-being of civilian spouses.
Increased use of synchronous communication during deployment was associated with greater marital quality if it occurred an average of once a week or less; synchronous communication at rates more than an average of once a week or less resulted in reduced marital quality.
No association was found between synchronous communication and spouses' psychological well-being.
Implications for Program Leaders
Disseminate information to Service members and their spouses regarding the potential problems associated with synchronous communication (e.g., scheduling conflicts, technological glitches) that may negatively impact communication during deployment
Continue to offer marriage workshops to military couples to support relationship functioning throughout the deployment cycle
Offer support groups for spouses of deployed Service members
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage the development and continuation of services that offer military families ways to communicate during deployment
Recommend education of professionals regarding communication issues families may experience during deployment and the impact this may have on spouse well-being
Continue to provide support for programs that work to increase family readiness
Methods
Data from the 2006 U.S. Department of Defense Survey of Active Duty Spouses were utilized for this study.
Spouses of Active Duty Service members who had at least six months of service at the beginning of the survey period (November 2005) were sent a paper survey in the mail, as well as instructions on how to complete the survey online.
A total of 11,138 spouses completed the survey. A subset of this sample was utilized for the current study, which included only civilian females married to a male Service member (n = 2,230).
Participants
Spouses were married to a Service member in the Army (38%), Marine Corps (30%), Navy (20%), or Air Force (12%).
The majority of participants were White (67%) and between the ages of 21-25 years (26%) or 26-30 years (22%).
About 48% of spouses had been married for at least one year but less than six years, and 68% had at least one child under the age of 18 years living with them during deployment.
Limitations
The availability, quality, and platforms (e.g., video, Instant Message) used to communicate have advanced within the last 10 years; therefore, results may no longer be applicable or accurately reflect military couples use and experiences with technology.
This study was correlational and therefore it may be possible that asynchronous communication frequency influenced marital quality or marital quality influenced asynchronous communication frequency during deployment.
This study only included civilian spouses and may not be generalizable to spouses in dual-military marriages or male spouses married to female Service members.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine the type of content (e.g., conflictual, reminiscent, daily updates) that is relayed via asynchronous and synchronous communication to explore similarities and differences
Explore how asynchronous and synchronous communication during deployment influences Service members psychological well-being
Investigate how different types of synchronous communication during deployment (e.g., video versus telephone) influences marital quality
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
In this study, we examined communication frequency via asynchronous (i.e. email/internet, postal mail) and synchronous (i.e. commercial telephone, DSN telephone, military exchange provided phone, military video phone, and video teleconference) communication methods as associated with well-being (i.e. marital quality and psychological well-being) in civilian wives during their Service member husbands’ deployment in the US military (N = 2230). We expected a curvilinear effect, such that increased communication frequency is beneficial up to a point where it then becomes detrimental for well-being. For asynchronous communication, we did not find this curvilinear relationship and instead identified a positive linear relationship for both marital quality and psychological well-being. For synchronous communication, we found this curvilinear relationship between communication and marital quality, but no significant association with psychological well-being. Overall, this study suggests military spouses might be encouraged to utilize asynchronous communication methods such as email and postal mail very frequently and moderate “real-time” communication.
Abstract Document
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