Meaningfulness of service and marital satisfaction in Army couples

Assessment of Marital Satisfaction Among Spouses of Soldiers: The Example of Turkey

INTRODUCTION

Military personnel and their families face biopsychosocial risk factors due to frequent deployments, long and dangerous assignments, being away from home, not being able to spend time with their family, and adaptation to family life after returning from duty. These risks are among the factors affecting the marital satisfaction of military families.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Our study population consists of 6 military spouses selected by the maximum sampling method, which the researchers reached using their resources. The research was conducted in Van Province between January and February 2021. The semi-structured interview form prepared by the researchers was used in the research designed with the qualitative research method. During the interviews, audio was recorded and transcribed.

RESULTS

With the findings obtained from the interviews, subthemes were formed by considering similar expressions used by the participants regarding their opinions under the main themes. The main themes that emerged in the research were the experience of being married to a soldier, relational satisfaction, the effect of duties on the relationship, and perception of social context. Considering all the results, it has been revealed that alongside long-term and far-from-home assignments due to the nature of military service, the military lifestyle determines the marital satisfaction of military spouses. Accordingly, it was observed that military spouses and families must be supported during the soldiers' duties and complicated professional processes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reveals that long-term and far-from-home assignments due to military service impact the marital satisfaction. Accordingly, it was observed that military spouses and families must be supported during the soldiers' duties and complicated professional processes.

PTSD service dogs foster resilience among veterans and military families

Military deployment and reintegration challenges permeate the lives and relationships of Veterans, their spouses, and their families. Among these challenges, 23% of post-9/11 Veterans have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychiatric service dogs have been found to help clinically alleviate PTSD symptoms when used as a complementary intervention. However, minimal research exists that explores the role of the service dog as a mechanism for cultivating resilience within the military family system. Researchers utilized a qualitative, constant comparative approach to analyze self-reported experiences of 101 individuals, including Veterans (n = 67) and their spouses (n = 34). Analyzed through the framework of the Theory of Resilience and Relational Load (Afifi et al., 2016), findings suggest complex communication processes that facilitate relational and family adaptation. These processes encompassed (a) the role of the service dog in building emotional reserves, (b) relational load introduced when caring for the service dog, and (c) the service dog's facilitation of relational maintenance behaviors among family members that contributed to communal orientation. Based on the results of this qualitative analysis, researchers suggest educational interventions where service dog trainers and mental health practitioners can incorporate relational maintenance strategies and family-focused approaches to integrating service dogs as military family members.

Self-efficacy and academic programme satisfaction: mediating effect of meaningfulness of study

Purpose

The paper examined the mediating effect of meaningfulness of study on the relation between self-efficacy and academic programme satisfaction within higher education setup.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 376 randomly selected students took part in the study by completing a self-reported survey. Data were analysed using PLS-SEM.

Findings

Results suggest self-efficacy and meaningfulness of studies positively predict student's satisfaction with academic programme. Besides, meaningfulness of study mediates the relation between self-efficacy and student's satisfaction of academic programme.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to provide empirical evidence of the influence of meaningfulness of studies on self-efficacy and student academic programme satisfaction in the higher education context.

Posttraumatic stress disorder service dogs and the wellbeing of veteran families

BACKGROUND

Benefits and challenges associated with service dogs for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may extend beyond veterans to their families.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the impact of veterans' PTSD service dogs on spouses and families in a parallel-group, longitudinal design with assessments at baseline and three months follow-up.

METHOD

A total of 88 United States military veteran spouses completed a survey composed of multiple standardized measures at baseline and three months later. In the intervention group (n = 48), veterans received service dogs shortly after baseline while the waitlist control group (n = 40) did not.

RESULTS

Linear regression analyses demonstrated significantly lower caregiver satisfaction, higher caregiver burden and higher participation in life activities among spouses who had service dogs in their homes compared to those on the waitlist. Though not significant, small effect sizes were present among additional measures.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest that although previous literature demonstrates service dogs may offer significant improvements for veterans, spouses and children may not experience those same benefits. Clinicians should consider how to prepare veteran spouses and families for integrating service dogs into their home. Future studies should explore family-focused approaches for service dog integration, defining an optimal strategy for the benefit of the entire family.

HIGHLIGHTS

Though service dogs may improve wellbeing for veterans with posttraumatic disorder, families of veterans may not experience those same benefits. Researchers and clinicians should consider how to best prepare veteran families for integrating service dogs into their homes.Though posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) service dogs are trained specifically for veterans, recent studies have demonstrated that their impact may go beyond veterans themselves (McCall, Rodriguez, Wadsworth, Meis, & O'Haire, 2020; Nieforth, Craig, Behmer, MacDermid Wadsworth, & O'Haire, 2021). PTSD service dogs may provide both benefits and challenges for veteran families.

Parental Relationship Quality and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: Investigating The Role of Parental Warmth and Hostility in United States Military Families

Military life is characterized by regular transitions; thus, parents are positioned to serve as stable protective factors for adolescents. We investigated a theory-informed model that assessed direct and indirect relationships between parental relationship quality, parental behaviors, and adolescent depressive symptomatology using cross-sectional data of military families in the United States (US). Participant families (N = 229), recruited via convenience sampling to take a computer-based survey, included an active duty father, his spouse, and an adolescent. Mother's couple relationship quality was indirectly linked to adolescent depressive symptoms through maternal warmth. Conversely, father's couple relationship quality was indirectly linked to adolescent depressive symptoms via paternal hostility. In other words, parental couple relationship quality was indirectly related to adolescent depressive symptoms, but this relationship differed by parent (i.e., warmth for mothers and hostility for fathers). Findings were similar for adolescent boys and girls.

Partners' motivations for accommodating posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in service members: The reasons for accommodation of PTSD scale

Emerging research reinforces the importance of partner accommodation in the interpersonal context of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A better understanding of partners' motivations for accommodation is needed to help refine or design interventions that target accommodation. To explore partners' motivations, we created the Reasons for Accommodation of PTSD Scale (RAPS) and evaluated it in 263 female partners of male Army soldiers who had returned from a deployment within the past 2 years. Soldiers completed a measure of military-related PTSD, and partners completed a measure of accommodation and the newly created RAPS. Factor analysis of the RAPS yielded a clear, 3-factor solution suggesting the following reasons for accommodating: (1) Relationship & Obligation, or a desire for positive relationship outcomes and a sense of duty or responsibility; (2) Helping Recovery, or a belief that avoidance was helpful for the service member; and (3) Conflict Avoidance/Helplessness, or a desire to avoid conflict or simply not knowing what else to do. Analyses of these factors in relation to soldiers' PTSD clusters indicated that hyperarousal symptoms were uniquely associated with relationship and obligation motivations, re-experiencing symptoms were uniquely associated with helping recovery motivations, and emotional numbing symptoms were uniquely associated with conflict avoidance and helplessness motivations. Furthermore, conflict avoidance and helplessness accounted for the greatest variance in partners' accommodation frequency and distress. Assessment of partners' accommodative behaviors, as well as their motivations for engaging in accommodation, may aid in treatment planning and enhance outcomes for couples in which one individual has PTSD.

Deployment-Related Benefit Finding and Postdeployment Marital Satisfaction in Military Couples

Extensive research has evaluated potential negative effects of military deployments on romantic relationships. Comparatively few studies have examined potential positive effects of such deployments. In stressful situations, benefit finding (BF) has been found to be linked with better functioning on both individual and interpersonal levels. This study reports on deployment-related BF in a sample of 67 male service members (SMs) who deployed at least once since 9/11/2001 and their wives. Couples completed measures of marital satisfaction at baseline (an average of 1 year postdeployment) and follow-up 4-6 months later. At follow-up, SMs also provided data on symptoms of posttraumatic stress, and both partners provided reports of deployment-related BF. Multivariate path analysis controlling for SMs' PTSD symptom severity revealed that wives' BF was positively associated with increases in SMs' relationship satisfaction. These findings suggest that wives' responses to deployment may be more influential than SMs' responses to deployment on military couples' relationships. This pattern indicates that support for spouses during deployments is essential; furthermore, such support should include an emphasis on trying to facilitate personal growth in spouses.

Experiencing Couple Relationships in the Line of Fire

The study aims to explore the way civilians living in the line of fire experience the impact of exposure to warfare on their couple relationships. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 couples living on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip. Four themes emerged: Overall perception of the security situation's impact on the dyadic relationships, dyadic intimacy, role division and decision-making, and Couple's emotional coping: partnership versus separateness. The findings were organized along a continuum between impacted and not-impacted relationships. Couple's position on this continuum was not fixed and could change as a result of to the security situation or marital therapy. The findings were framed in concepts from Dialectic Theory and from the Family Adaptation Models. Implications for couple therapy in these situations were specified.

Weathering the storm? The impact of trauma on romantic relationships

The current paper reviews the recent literature examining the impact of trauma on romantic relationships. We introduce the Dyadic Responses to Trauma (DRT) Model as a framework for organizing existing research and guiding future research. A traumatic event affects romantic relationships for the better or for the worse depending on the diverse trauma-related experiences people can have, influencing the way partners interact with each other and ultimately the quality of the relationship. In addition, recent research demonstrates how romantic partners can demonstrate resiliency in spite of a negative trauma experience depending on how they interpret and cope with the experience individually and as a couple.

PREP for Strong Bonds: A review of outcomes from a randomized clinical trial

To help address the relationship needs of service members, there have been a number of programs offered within active duty and veteran contexts. One program, offered within the Strong Bonds portfolio delivered by Army Chaplains, is PREP for Strong Bonds (PREP = the Prevention and Relationship Education Program). PREP has a number of empirically based and tested variants. This article reviews the disseminated research regarding results from a large randomized clinical trial designed to test the effectiveness of PREP for Strong Bonds. From a sample of 662 Army couples drawn from two sites, outcome papers have focused on different subsamples, marital outcomes, follow up time points, and moderators. Reviewing these disseminated outcomes, we conclude that PREP for Strong Bonds has significant divorce reduction effects at one site; these divorce effects were found at both one and two years post intervention, and were moderated by factors such as minority status, economic strain, and cohabitation history of the couple. In terms of marital quality outcomes, some modest overall effects were found pre to post intervention, but there were no overall marital quality outcome effects two years post intervention. However, marital quality outcomes are significantly moderated by infidelity and cohabitation history, with couples reporting these risk factors showing greater positive marital quality outcomes. These results to date are discussed in terms of clinical and research implications as well as directions for future work, such as examining longer term preventative effects.