Publication year
2013
Citation Title
Self-reported stressors of National Guard women veterans before and after deployment: The relevance of interpersonal relationship.
Journal Name
Journal of General Internal Medicine
Journal Volume
28
Issue Number
2
Page Numbers
549-555
DOI
10.1007/s11606-012-2247-6
Summary
Female National Guard and Reserve personnel completed qualitative surveys to examine the prevalence of stressors before and after deployment. Interpersonal stressors were most common across all data collection time points.
Key Findings
Six major stressor categories were identified for female Guard and Reserve personnel, including: interpersonal, deployment- and military-related, health concerns, death of a loved one, daily needs, and employment/school-related.
Spanning all time points across the deployment cycle, interpersonal stressors were the most common.
The prevalence of deployment- and military-related stressors decreased over time.
The prevalence of daily needs, health, and employment/school concerns increased over time.
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer supportive classes for female Service Members about coping with interpersonal stressors
Collaborate with physical health care providers to develop seminars about the associations between interpersonal stressors and physical health
Work with local community and religious groups to provide better access to resources for female Service Members
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend incorporating specific screenings for interpersonal stressors for Service Members before and after deployment
Encourage the development of training for Service Members about how to cope with stressors
Recommend that family reintegration seminars incorporate training about stressors and how to access resources to cope with stressors
Methods
This study is part of the HEROES projects, a prospective, longitudinal cohort study of pre- and post-deployment health.
Participants were surveyed prior to an Iraq or Afghanistan deployment, immediately after return from deployment, three months after return, and one year after return.
Participants responded to an open-ended question about the most important stressor experienced in the last year.
Participants
Seventy-five Army National Guard and Reserve personnel deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan participated in this study.
The majority of participants were White (67%), with an average age of 28 years (SD = 7.9 years).
The majority of participants had not previously deployed (70%).
Limitations
The sample was small and results may not generalize to all female National Guard and Reserve personnel.
There was a large amount of attrition across data collection points, which could reduce validity of the results.
Only female Army National Guard and Reserve personnel were included in the study; it is unknown how these results might generalize to male Army National Guard and Reserve personnel.
Avenues for Future Research
Use in-depth qualitative interviews to better understand the stressors experienced by female Service Members
Examine how Service Members seek resources to help cope with stressors
Explore other factors related to stressors, such as socioeconomic status and family structure
Focus
Army
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
BACKGROUND: With their rapidly expanding roles in the military, women service members experience significant stressors throughout their deployment experience. However, there are few studies that examine changes in women Veterans’ stressors before and after deployment. OBJECTIVE: This study examines the types of stressors women Veterans report before deployment, immediately after deployment, 3 months after deployment, and 1 year post-deployment. DESIGN: Descriptive data on reported stressors was collected at four time points of a longitudinal study (HEROES Project). Open-ended responses from the Coping Response Inventory (CRI) were coded into six possible major stressor categories for analysis. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-nine Army National Guard and Reserve female personnel deploying to Operation Enduring Freedom (OFF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) were surveyed prior to deployment. Of these participants, 35 women completed Phase 2, 41 completed Phase 3, and 48 completed Phase 4 of the study. KEY RESULTS: We identified six major stressor categories: (1) interpersonal (i.e., issues with family and/or friends), (2) deployment-related and military-related, (3) health concerns, (4) death of a loved one, (5) daily needs (i.e., financial/housing/transportation concerns), and (6) employment or school-related concerns. At all time points, interpersonal issues were one of the most common type of stressor for this sample. Daily needs concerns increased from 3 months post-deployment to 1 year post-deployment. CONCLUSIONS: Interpersonal concerns are commonly reported by women Veterans both before and after their combat experience, suggesting that this is a time during which interpersonal support is especially critical. We discuss implications, which include the need for a more coordinated approach to women Veterans’ health care (e.g., greater community-based outreach), and the need for more and more accessible Veterans Affairs (VA) services to address the needs of female Veterans.
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