War-time Marital Separation: Mental Health and Reunion Expectations Among Non-Deployed Spouses
Publisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
This project was broadly interested in the impact of military deployments on non-deployed spouses. Specifically, it examined how adjustment of the non-deployed spouse was related to the quality of the spouse's reunion experience. Non-deployed spouses' adjustment to the deployment was operationally defined in two ways, as relational adjustment and psychiatric adjustment. Relational adjustment examined aspects of a stream-of-conscious (SOC) recording non-deployed spouses made about their upcoming reunion experience with their husbands. Psychiatric adjustment was measured as a composite score of mental health symptoms, including: depressive, anxiety, and substance use symptoms from before, during, and after deployment. It was predicted that mental health symptoms would worsen following the deployment and improve following their husband's return; however, individual results were much more varied. In addition, I examined whether or not the composite scores of mental health were related to high adjustment during the deployment and a positive reunion experience later. While results were non-significant, this is likely due to the small sample size, as moderate effects were seen in the analysis involving more participants. Additionally, there was a strong relationship observed between the construct of balance during the Reunion SOC and mental health at Time 1, suggesting that mental health prior to a deployment may have behavioral implications during the deployment. Results from this project have some important implications for military families; by suggesting how adjustment relates to reunion experiences, programs can be offered to help non-deploying family members succeed through this difficult time.Type
textElectronic Thesis
Degree Name
B.S.Degree Level
bachelorsDegree Program
Honors CollegePsychology