Community, Context, and Coping: How Social Connections Influence Coping and Well‐Being for Military Members and Their Spouses

Abstract

Military members and their spouses (n = 223 families) were selected from an Active Duty Army installation and assessed with regard to their connections with the military community, their levels of coping with military culture demands, and their reports of individual (depression and life satisfaction) and family well‐being. Guided by the contextual model of family stress and the social organization theory of action and change, results from a structural equation model indicated that military community connections, for both military members and their civilian spouses, were related to coping with the military culture and its demands, which in turn was related to both individual and family well‐being. Unique actor and partner effects also emerged where both active duty military members' and their civilian spouses' perceptions of military community connections influenced the civilian spouses' satisfaction with military life, but only the active duty military members' community connections influenced their military‐specific coping. Additionally, the associations between military‐specific coping and individual and family well‐being only had actor effects. When examined within the context of important military culture elements, namely rank and extent of military transitions (deployment and relocation), these core findings linking communities to coping and well‐being were unchanged. Implications for theory, future research, and practice are shared.

Military‐Related Stress and Family Well‐Being Among Active Duty Army Families

“…These findings call attention to the importance of understanding the experiences of civilian partners, a group who is often overlooked in studies of military families, and suggest that their own difficulty coping with their partner's military‐related demands is an important predictor of the quality of their family relationships. Although some previous research suggests that the military context, particularly objective indicators such as rank, is a more salient determinant of the military member's well‐being than other family members (O'Neal et al, 2018), the findings from the current study emphasize that both partners are affected. Underscoring this point, the magnitude of effects did not differ for service members and civilian partners.…”

“…These linkages between rank and family well‐being likely are attributed to a number of interrelated factors. For instance, research indicates that lower‐ranking individuals generally perceived that they have less family support from unit leaders, fewer social connections, and fewer relationship provisions (e.g., less reassurance of worth, less attachment to others, less social integration) than do higher‐ranking individuals (Lucier‐Greer et al, 2016; O'Neal et al, 2016, 2018). The lack of available social support for lower‐ranking individuals may add stress and result in conflictual interactions between family members (O'Neal et al, 2016; Westman, 2001).…”

Financial Boundary Ambiguity Among Military Spouses

“…Consistent with previous research on service members and their families, the findings support the value of the CMFS as a helpful framework for understanding resilience in families after a stressor event. CMFS highlights the importance of understanding the role of boundary ambiguity (Hollingsworth et al, 2016) and the need for further understanding of resources related to resilience in the reunion stage of deployment (O'Neal et al, 2020).…”

Warrior Ethos versus Well-Being: Correcting a Cultural Dichotomy

“…One way to promote connection is by improving communication skills, which enhance relationship strength (Petrovici & Dobrescu 2014;Eğeci & Gençöz 2006). Furthermore, ensuring soldiers are connected to community matters; in a recent study, connections to community predicted ability to cope with military demands (O'Neal et al, 2020).…”