Department of Psychology.
J Fam Psychol. 2023 Feb;37(1):45-53. doi: 10.1037/fam0001030. Epub 2022 Sep 1.
Spouses/partners play a crucial role in providing support to military service members (SMs), maintaining a sense of stability for the family, and supporting the overall mission of the armed forces. However, several aspects of the military lifestyle may impact their own psychological health. Much research has focused on the role of SMs' deployments and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in partners' distress, but no study has yet quantitatively investigated these factors in tandem with the common military life stressor of frequent relocations. The present study investigated the degree to which problems from service-related moves, couple deployment separation, and SMs' PTSD symptoms uniquely predict partner psychological distress. Data were collected from female partners of Army soldiers who completed online surveys across four timepoints (over 1.5 years) following a deployment. Surveys assessed psychological distress, perceptions of SMs' PTSD symptoms, problems from service-related moves, and deployment separation. Multilevel modeling was used, with longitudinal data treated as repeated measures (i.e., not modeling change over time). Results indicated that problems from service-related moves were associated with greater psychological stress, even when accounting for SMs' PTSD symptoms and deployment separation. Deployment separation itself was not a significant predictor of psychological distress. Findings indicate that problems associated with frequent moves may be a significant contributor to increased psychological distress for partners above and beyond challenges associated with SMs' PTSD symptoms. Recommendations for future research and limitations are also provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
配偶/伴侣在为军人（SM）提供支持、为家庭保持稳定感以及支持武装部队的整体任务方面发挥着至关重要的作用。然而，军人生活方式的几个方面可能会影响他们自己的心理健康。许多研究都集中在军人部署和创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状对伴侣困扰的作用上，但尚无研究定量调查这些因素与频繁调动这一常见的军人生活应激源同时出现的情况。本研究调查了与服务相关的调动问题、夫妻部署分离以及军人 PTSD 症状在多大程度上可以独特地预测伴侣的心理困扰。数据来自陆军士兵的女性伴侣，他们在部署后通过在线调查在四个时间点（超过 1.5 年）完成了调查。调查评估了心理困扰、对军人 PTSD 症状的看法、与服务相关的调动问题和部署分离。使用多层次模型，将纵向数据视为重复测量（即，不随时间建模变化）。结果表明，与服务相关的调动问题与更大的心理压力有关，即使考虑到军人的 PTSD 症状和部署分离也是如此。部署分离本身并不是心理困扰的显著预测因素。研究结果表明，与频繁调动相关的问题可能是导致伴侣心理困扰增加的一个重要因素，而不仅仅是与军人 PTSD 症状相关的挑战。还提供了对未来研究和局限性的建议。
