Assessment of a Postdeployment Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program for National Guard Members and Supporters

Abstract

The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) was created to meet the needs of National Guard members and their families throughout the deployment cycle. This study examined the perceived utility of the YRRP’s delivery of information and assistance during the post-deployment reintegration period by National Guard members and accompanying supporters who were mostly spouses. Over 22 months, from 10 YRRP events, 683 service members and 411 supporters completed questionnaires immediately after the YRRP. We analyzed questions on information and help provision, timeliness and concerns related to education, employment, legal, family, and health. Service members and supporters most often endorsed education needs being met (76.8% and 78.2% respectively) and were least likely to endorse legal needs being met (63.5% and 60% respectively). Significantly more supporters than service members (p < 0.0001) reported that the YRRP was the first time they learned of available services across all domains. Service members were significantly more likely than supporters to report concerns about education, employment, and health; while supporters were significantly more likely to report concerns about family. Results suggest the YRRP fills gaps in supporter knowledge and provides needed information and resources to most National Guard families 2-4 months after a deployment.

Mental health symptoms and the reintegration difficulty of military couples following deployment: A longitudinal application of the relational turbulence model

“…Second, our data mapping the trajectory of reintegration difficulty (see Figure ) imply that clinical efforts may be most germane 4–5 weeks following reunion rather than right after homecoming (when support may not seem necessary) or several months afterward (when support may be less relevant). Clinicians and chaplains involved with sequenced outreach programs, such as the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program for National Guard and reserve service members (e.g., Scherrer et al, ), should consider the trajectory of reintegration difficulty when timing the delivery of their curriculum.…”

Military Family Research: Methodological Lessons Learned, Often the Hard Way. Updated, With a Eulogy to Dr. Bruce Bell

“…(p. 41). Karney andCrown"s (2007, 2011) research and its null findings have been cited extensively (Allen, Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, 2010, 2011Thomas, Wilk, & Bliese, 2012;Ross, 2016;Sayers, 2011;Sayers, Farrow, Ross, & Oslin, 2009;Scherrer, Widner, Shroff, Matthieu, Balan, van den Berk-Clark, & Price, 2014;Segal et al, 2015;Schlomer, Hawkins, Wiggs, Bosch, Casper, Card, & Borden, 2012;Stanley, Allen, Markman, Rhoades, & Prentice, 2010;Trump, Lamson, Lewis, & Muse, 2015;Wang, Seelig, MacDermid Wadsworth, McMaster, Alcaraz, & Crum-Cianflone, 2015). Not unlike other large human organizations, the Pentagon does not need any more bad news than it is already getting, so the Karney and Crown research was probably to the liking of the Pentagon and thus to the organization bearing the good news, the RAND corporation.…”

“…Family support/readiness programs or other interventions might have been better for some deployments than others (Bates, Fallesen, Huey, Packard, Ryan….. & Bowles, 2013;Bowles, Pollock, Moore, MacDermid Wadsworth;Cato…. & Bates, 2015;Laser & Stephens, 2011;Scherrer, Widner, Shroff, Matthieu, Balan, van den Berk-Clark, & Price, 2014) and may have improved over time (MacDermid Wadsworth & Southwell, 2011). Some deployments might have had greater political support and a greater sense of meaning for families involved Copyright © 2019, Archives of Psychology.…”

Brief‐Systemic Programs for Promoting Mental Health and Relationship Functioning in Military Couples and Families

“…Further, there is more variance in content across programs. For example, Passport Toward Success (Wilson, Wilkum, Chernichky, MacDermid Wadsworth, & Broniarczyk, ) and Strong Families Strong Forces (DeVoe, Paris, Emmert‐Aronson, Ross, & Acker, ) focus on reunion support for parent–child dyads, whereas Warrior Family Resilience and Thriving (Jarrett, ) and the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (Scherrer et al, ) focus on resourcing (e.g., psychological coping techniques, tangible support options).…”

“…Intervention and psychoeducation programs may be less effective immediately following return from deployment given that symptoms may take time to develop or to be noticed (see Milliken et al, ; Sayer et al, ). In addition, service members may be overwhelmed with information upon return given that they receive a lot of information and resources during this transition (e.g., Scherrer et al, ) and there may be a honeymoon phase of reintegration for families (Drummet, Coleman, & Cable, ). Service members are likely eager to return to family life, and they may believe that treatment could extend their time away from home or that seeking mental health services will negatively affect their career while in the military (Tanielian & Jaycox, ).…”