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. 2021 Feb;35(1):33-43.
doi: 10.1037/fam0000702. Epub 2020 May 21.

Mental health outcomes associated with profiles of risk and resilience among U.S. Army spouses

Kathrine S Sullivan  1 , Stacy Ann Hawkins  2 , Tamika D Gilreath  3 , Carl A Castro  4
Affiliations

Mental health outcomes associated with profiles of risk and resilience among U.S. Army spouses

Kathrine S Sullivan et al. J Fam Psychol. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

The current study examined patterns of risk and protective factors among military families and associations with mental health diagnoses among U.S. Army spouses. Spouses (N = 3,036) completed a survey of family psychosocial fitness, which informed protective factors including coping, family cohesion, and social support. Survey results were linked with Department of Defense archival data, which provided information on military-specific risks, including relocation, deployments, and reunification, as well as mental health care diagnoses. The three-step method of latent profile analysis identified six profiles, suggesting significant heterogeneity in military families with respect to their access to resources and exposure to risk. The largest profile of families (40.48% of the sample) had limited risk exposure and considerable strengths. Variability in risk and protection across profiles was associated with statistically significant differences in the prevalence of mental health diagnoses among spouses (χ² = 108.968, df = 5, p < .001). The highest prevalence of mental health diagnoses among Army spouses (41.2%) was observed in the profile with the lowest levels of protective factors. Findings point to the importance of evaluating both concurrent risk and protective factors. Increasing access to resources may be a fruitful avenue for prevention among military families that are struggling. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Visual representation of continuous latent profile indicators where bars represent protective factors and line represents mean deployment days. Note. Additional risk factor indicators (experiencing a relocation in the preceding year and experiencing a reunification following a deployment in the preceding year) are not shown, as these variables are represented as conditional probabilities. These risk factors tended to track closely with mean deployment days across profiles. For reference, the prevalence of mental health diagnoses in each profile are as follows: 29.9% in Profile 1, 8.2% in Profile 2, 41.2% in Profile 3, 13.3% in Profile 4, 17.1% in Profile 5, and 25.8% in Profile 6.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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