Connecting experiences of community shared responsibility and collective competence to the well-being of adults in military families.

Drawing from the social organization theory of action and change, the role of community-capacity elements (shared responsibility and collective competence) for military members' and their civilian spouses' well-being is examined. With data from 266 active-duty military families, military members and their spouses are classified by theory-based community-capacity type. A path analysis examines associations between community types, elements of military context (rank and transitions), and dimensions of well-being (anxiety, depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, life satisfaction). There were few variations in community capacity across rank and transitions. For military members' and their civilian spouses, community types were differentially associated with well-being, particularly in disengaged and synergetic communities. Well-being was generally highest for those in synergistic communities (high shared responsibility and collective competence) and lowest in disengaged communities (low shared responsibility and collective competence). Findings inform intervention and prevention efforts seeking to activate communities as a mechanism for fostering well-being.