Stress-buffering versus support erosion: Comparison of causal models of the relationship between social support and psychological distress in military spouses.

Abstract

Spouses of National Guard/Reserve (NG/R) military service members cope with deploymentrelated stressors (DRS) that may contribute to increased psychological distress. Research indicates that higher levels of social support are associated with reduced depression and anxiety in military spouses, but longitudinal relationships have not yet been examined bidirectionally. This study examines temporal relationships between 3 dimensions of social support (social connectedness, dyadic satisfaction, and perceived support), and psychological distress in a sample of NG/R spouses during the first year after a service member returns from deployment. Data from 103 military spouses were drawn from a larger intervention development study. Autoregressive cross-lagged panel analyses examined the stress-buffering and support erosion hypotheses over a 3-month period. DRS were measured by the cumulative number of deployments and duration of most recent deployment. Distress was assessed using latent variables of depression and anxiety. Statistically significant relationships emerged between initial levels of psychological distress and social connectedness at 3 months. Social support dimensions of dyadic satisfaction and perceived support did not predict subsequent levels of psychological distress. No significant relationships emerged between any dimension of social support at baseline and either form of psychological distress at 3 months. The support erosion hypothesis may more accurately describe the relationship between social support and psychological distress in this sample than the stress-buffering mechanism. During the first year of reintegration, social connectedness may be of particular relevance for NG/R spouses, as they may not have access to supports typically available to their active duty counterparts. Public Policy Relevance StatementReintegration can be a stressful time for military families. Social support is essential for maintaining good psychological and physical health, especially during times of stress. This study explores two causal models of the relationship between three unique dimensions of social support and psychological distress in National Guard/Reserve (NG/R) military spouses during reintegration. Findings indicate that the support erosion hypothesis, wherein higher levels of psychological distress predict subsequent reductions in social connectedness, best explains this relationship in military spouses during the first year of reintegration. Findings suggest the need for development of additional community-based supports for NG/R spouses, as they may not have access to supports typically available to their active duty counterparts.

Love and war: Prospective associations between relationship distress and incidence of psychiatric disorders in active-duty Army personnel.

“…First, the finding that marital distress predicted MDE incidence 5 years later is consistent with previous research that has found a cross-sectional association between marital distress and MDE in the Army STARRS sample at baseline (Whisman et al, 2019) and a longitudinal association between baseline relationship distress and incidence of MDE at follow-up in probability samples of civilians in the United States (Whisman & Bruce, 1999) and the Netherlands (Overbeek et al, 2006). However, two previous studies failed to find an association between baseline relationship distress and depressive symptoms less than 1 year after baseline in military personnel (Cigrang et al, 2014b;Ross et al, 2020). It is possible that potential detrimental effects of relationship distress on depression may become more salient over time in military personnel; however, further research is needed to explore this possibility.…”

“…A longitudinal study of USAF security forces did not find an association between predeployment marital distress and later depressive symptoms assessed during a yearlong deployment to Iraq (Cigrang et al, 2014b). Similarly, there was no association between marital distress and psychological distress 3 months later in a sample of National Guard/Reserve service members (Ross et al, 2020). A study of U.S. National Guard soldiers found that neither self-reported nor partner-reported relationship distress was associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms assessed 6–9 months later, whereas baseline PTSD symptoms were significantly and positively associated with partner-reported relationship distress 6–9 months later (Erbes, Meis, Polusny, Compton, & Wadsworth, 2012).…”

Social Disconnection and Psychological Distress in Canadian Men During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“… Ashida and Heaney (2008) argue that lower levels of feeling socially connected offer less proximity to social networks and lower likelihood of feeling comfortable while relying on networks for support. The perception of having social supports is well known to buffer the effects of psychological stressors, and without these resources, a sense of disconnection from others can heighten vulnerabilities and challenges to increasing psychological distress ( Cohen & Wills, 1985 ; Ross et al, 2020 ; Skomorovsky, 2014 ). That social connectedness was unrelated to fear of COVID-19 suggests that feeling distanced from others had minimal bearing on men’s fear and worry about contracting COVID-19, or was influenced by such fear or worry.…”

A prospective study of marital distress and mental health symptoms across the deployment cycle.

“…For example, cross-sectional studies of military personnel have shown that relationship distress is positively associated with depressive symptoms (Foran et al, 2011; Knobloch & Basinger, 2021; Knobloch & Theiss, 2011), anxiety symptoms (Knobloch et al, 2019), and PTSD symptoms (Balderrama-Durbin et al, 2013). Whereas some longitudinal research enrolling convenience samples has not observed a prospective association between relationship distress and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD (Cigrang et al, 2014; Erbes et al, 2012; Ross et al, 2020), other work conducted with a representative sample of active duty U.S. Army soldiers has suggested links over time. Data from the All-Army Study portion of the U.S. Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS; Ursano et al, 2020) revealed that soldiers’ marital distress was positively associated with the past 30-day experience of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and PTSD both concurrently (Whisman et al, 2020) and 5 years later (Whisman, Salinger, et al, 2021).…”