Identifying Mental Health Profiles Among Adolescents Who Experienced a Recent Parental Deployment or Military-Related Family Separation.

Accessing two independent samples of adolescents in military families in the United States who recently experienced parental separation (N = 573; N = 186), this study sought to identify adolescent mental health profiles indexed on multiple indicators. In other words, we asked how military adolescents fare after parental separation in terms of mental health indicators. Proximal family processes (family cohesion, conflict, and marital adjustment) were also examined in relation to mental health profiles as well as core adolescent outcomes, self-rated health, and school enjoyment. In both samples, three profiles emerged identifying similar structures of mental health profiles. Two-thirds of adolescents were in the lowest risk mental health group. Poor family cohesion and greater conflict were associated with the moderate and highest risk groups. The lowest risk group reported better health and greater school enjoyment. Family nurses and other health care professionals are encouraged to inquire about military connectedness, structural changes occurring within the family system, and family processes in relation to adolescent well-being.

Military-related stress, self-efficacy, and anxiety: Investigating the role of marital quality in military couples.

This study utilizes a stress process framework in conjunction with a crossover perspective to conceptualize how stress, specifically military-related stress, manifests within individuals and couples. An actor-partner interdependence mediation modeling approach was used in a cross-sectional sample of 243 military couples to examine whether difficulties managing military-related stress may erode one's own self-efficacy and, in turn, contribute to greater anxiety (actor effects) and/or one's partner's self-efficacy and, in turn, anxiety (partner effects). Further, the potential moderating impact of marital quality was explicated in the model to understand if greater marital quality might buffer the impact of military-related stress. There was support for the stress process model primarily regarding actor effects; fewer partner effects emerged. One's own perceptions of military-related stress, specifically higher stress, were related to lower levels of their own self-efficacy, and, consequently, higher anxiety, but military-related stress did not directly affect the partner's self-efficacy or anxiety. Both service members' and civilian spouses' marital quality had ramifications for civilian spouses' self-efficacy, specifically a buffering effect; that was not the case regarding civilian spouse effects on the military member. Findings point to specific ways in which military stressors have implications for personal well-being, the role of a strong couple relationship in buffering stress, especially for civilian spouses, and concomitant leverage points for supporting both individual and couple well-being.

The biopsychosocial associations between marital hostility and physical health of middle-aged couples.

The aim of the current study was to investigate bio-psycho-behavioral associations between marital distress and the physical health of couples, with two different aspects of physical health outcomes receiving attention: physical illness and physical functional impairments over the middle years. Using an actor-partner interdependence model within a longitudinal approach and data from married heterosexual couples in enduring marriages (N = 370 dyads), we examined the mediating pathways which reflected biopsychosocial processes and addressed how trajectories spousal hostility may contribute to husbands' and wives' later health. The results indicated that hostile marital interactions in the early middle years could wear down couples' regulatory systems through greater psychological distress, more health-risk behaviors, and a higher body mass index (BMI), which in turn increased vulnerability to later physical health problems for both husbands and wives. For both husbands and wives, their evolved psychological distress influenced by both their own and their spouse's perceived spousal hostile behaviors, supported the stress-related dyadic process in the couples. The findings also emphasized the salient role of psychological distress in leading not only to an increased risk of physical illness directly but also to a higher risk of physical impairment through increased levels of BMI for both husbands and wives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

When Fathers Are Involved: Examining Relational and Psychosocial Health among Military Families.

Father involvement can promote the psychosocial health of family members (i.e., fathers, mothers, and children). However, the association between father involvement and individual members' psychosocial health may depend on the quality of the marital relationship and the perceptions of the reporting family member. Research with multiple reporters from the same family is needed identify how family members perceive the impact of father involvement on family member well-being. Using a risk and resilience theoretical framework applied to a family systems perspective, the current study examines associations between father involvement, family flexibility, marital quality, and psychosocial health with a sample of 207 military families (including fathers, mothers, and their adolescents). After accounting for military context, a conditional structural equation model was used to examine the associations between fathers' involvement and family members' psychosocial health. Family flexibility was examined as a mediator between these associations and marital quality as a moderator. Findings suggest that when fathers are more involved, both mothers and fathers report less family flexibility, and that family flexibility was positively associated with family member (father, mother, and adolescent) well-being. Further, father involvement was indirectly related to mothers' psychosocial health through family flexibility, and father involvement was directly associated with better psychosocial health for fathers and adolescents. Marital quality moderated these associations for fathers, mothers, and adolescents. Given the combined benefits of father involvement, family flexibility, and positive marital relationships, clinical efforts to provide information to increase knowledge and skills around maintaining a healthy relationship could serve to promote psychosocial health by improving marital quality and family flexibility.

La participación del padre puede promover la salud psicosocial de los miembros de la familia (p. ej.: padres, madres e hijos). Sin embargo, la asociación entre la participación del padre y la salud psicosocial individual de los miembros de la familia puede depender de la calidad de la relación conyugal y de las percepciones del miembro de la familia que informa. Se necesitan investigaciones con varios informantes de la misma familia para identificar cómo los miembros de la familia perciben el efecto de la participación del padre en el bienestar de los miembros de la familia. Utilizando un marco teórico de riesgo y resiliencia aplicado a una perspectiva de sistemas familiares, el presente estudio analiza las asociaciones entre la participación del padre, la flexibilidad familiar, la calidad conyugal y la salud psicosocial con una muestra de 207 familias de militares (incluidos los padres, las madres y sus adolescentes). Después de tener en cuenta el contexto militar, se utilizó un modelo condicional de ecuaciones estructurales para analizar las asociaciones entre la participación de los padres y la salud psicosocial de los miembros de la familia. Se analizó la flexibilidad familiar como mediadora entre estas asociaciones y la calidad conyugal como moderadora. Los resultados sugieren que cuando los padres participan más, tanto las madres como los padres informan menos flexibilidad familiar, y que la flexibilidad familiar estuvo asociada positivamente con el bienestar de los miembros de la familia (padre, madre y adolescente). Además, la participación de los padres estuvo indirectamente relacionada con la salud psicosocial de las madres mediante la flexibilidad familiar, y la participación de los padres estuvo asociada directamente con una mejor salud psicosocial en los padres y los adolescentes. La calidad conyugal moderó estas asociaciones en el caso de los padres, las madres y los adolescentes. Teniendo en cuenta los beneficios combinados de la participación del padre, la flexibilidad familiar y las relaciones conyugales positivas, los esfuerzos clínicos para proporcionar información a fin de ampliar el conocimiento y las habilidades en torno al mantenimiento de una relación saludable podrían servir para promover la salud psicosocial mejorando la calidad conyugal y la flexibilidad familiar.

Connecting experiences of community shared responsibility and collective competence to the well-being of adults in military families.

Drawing from the social organization theory of action and change, the role of community-capacity elements (shared responsibility and collective competence) for military members' and their civilian spouses' well-being is examined. With data from 266 active-duty military families, military members and their spouses are classified by theory-based community-capacity type. A path analysis examines associations between community types, elements of military context (rank and transitions), and dimensions of well-being (anxiety, depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, life satisfaction). There were few variations in community capacity across rank and transitions. For military members' and their civilian spouses, community types were differentially associated with well-being, particularly in disengaged and synergetic communities. Well-being was generally highest for those in synergistic communities (high shared responsibility and collective competence) and lowest in disengaged communities (low shared responsibility and collective competence). Findings inform intervention and prevention efforts seeking to activate communities as a mechanism for fostering well-being.

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

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.

Se seleccionaron militares y sus cónyuges (n = 223 familias) de una instalación de servicio activo del ejército y se evaluaron en términos de sus conexiones con la comunidad militar, sus niveles de afrontamiento de las demandas de la cultura militar, y sus informes de bienestar individual (depresión y satisfacción de vida) y familiar. Los resultados de un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales, guiado por el modelo contextual de estrés familiar y la teoría de acción y cambio de organizaciones sociales, indicaron que las conexiones con la comunidad militar, tanto para militares como para sus cónyuges civiles, se asociaron al afrontamiento con la cultura militar y sus demandas, asociado a su vez al bienestar individual y familiar. Además, efectos únicos de actor y de pareja emergieron cuando las percepciones de sus conexiones con la comunidad militar tanto de militares en servicio activo como de sus cónyuges influyeron en la satisfacción del cónyuge civil con la vida militar pero sólo las conexiones con la comunidad militar de los militares en servicio activo influyeron en su propio afrontamiento específicamente militar. Por otra parte, las asociaciones entre el afrontamiento específicamente militar y el bienestar individual y familiar sólo tuvieron efectos de actor. Al examinarse dentro del contexto de elementos de cultura militar importantes, específicamente de rango y alcance de transiciones militares (despliegue y reubicación), estas relaciones de la comunidad central al afrontamiento al bienestar se mantuvieron sin cambio. Se comparten las implicaciones para la teoría, investigaciones futuras y la práctica.

The Importance of Parents' Community Connections for Adolescent Well-being: An Examination of Military Families.

Drawing from the Social Organization Theory of Action and Change (SOAC), this analysis of 223 military families, including active duty (AD) military and civilian partners, examines how parents' sense of community and community engagement (two elements of community connections) are associated with their own resilient coping, and ultimately with important outcomes capturing their adolescent offspring's individual well-being (depression, anxiety, and self-efficacy) and family well-being (family functioning and parenting quality). The roles of child gender and military context were also examined. Parents with stronger community connections, including greater sense of community and community engagement, reported more resilient coping when faced with adversity. The resilient coping of mothers, in turn, was particularly significant for more positive youth outcomes, when compared to that of fathers. While gender and military context were associated with individual and family well-being, analyses of model invariance indicated that the model fit similarly for male and female adolescents and those experiencing high and low levels of military transitions. Indirect effects were also examined. These findings illuminate malleable dimensions of both community life and family life, primarily showing that community contexts matter for multiple family members.

Resilient family processes, personal reintegration, and subjective well-being outcomes for military personnel and their family members.

Deployment affects not just the service members, but also their family members back home. Accordingly, this study examined how resilient family processes during a deployment (i.e., frequency of communication and household management) were related to the personal reintegration of each family member (i.e., how well each family member begins to "feel like oneself again" after a deployment), as well as several indicators of subjective well-being. Drawing from the family attachment network model (Riggs & Riggs, 2011), the present study collected survey data from 273 service members, their partners, and their adolescent children. Resilient family processes during the deployment itself (i.e., frequency of communication, household management), postdeployment positive and negative personal reintegration, and several indicators of well-being were assessed. Frequency of communication was related to personal reintegration for service members, while household management was related to personal reintegration for nondeployed partners; both factors were related to personal reintegration for adolescents. Negative and positive personal reintegration related to a variety of subjective well-being outcomes for each individual family member. Interindividual (i.e., crossover) effects were also found, particularly between adolescents and nondeployed partners. (PsycINFO Database Record

Contextualizing the Psychosocial Well-being of Military Members and Their Partners: The Importance of Community and Relationship Provisions.

Evidence of the impact of communities has been documented for a variety of individual and relational outcomes, including mental and physical health as well as the quality of romantic and parent-child relationships. The military represents a rather unique work context; in that, it is generally considered a lifestyle with a distinct culture and community. Yet, military families are also members of their broader, comprehensive community. Drawing from the social organizational theory of action and change (SOC) (Mancini & Bowen, 2013), and relationship provisions theory (Weiss, 1969) and utilizing a sample of 266 active duty military families, this study examined connectedness with the military community and the broader, comprehensive community. A dyadic model was evaluated whereby each partner's perspective of their comprehensive and military community was hypothesized to influence their own psychosocial well-being as well as their partner's psychosocial well-being. The role of relationship provisions (that is, having relationship needs met) as a mechanism linking community connections to psychosocial well-being was also examined. Overall, the findings supported the hypothesized model, particularly for intra-individual effects and military members. Findings emphasize the importance of considering what is gained from connections within a community rather than a focus solely on the connections themselves.

Social stressors, coping behaviors, and depressive symptoms: A latent profile analysis of adolescents in military families.

We investigated the relationship between context-specific social stressors, coping behaviors, and depressive symptoms among adolescents in active duty military families across seven installations (three of which were in Europe) (N = 1036) using a person-centered approach and a stress process theoretical framework. Results of the exploratory latent profile analysis revealed four distinct coping profiles: Disengaged Copers, Troubled Copers, Humor-intensive Copers, and Active Copers. Multinomial logistic regressions found no relationship between military-related stressors (parental separation, frequent relocations, and parental rank) and profile membership. Analysis of variance results revealed significant and meaningful differences between the coping profiles and depressive symptomology, specifically somatic symptoms, depressive affect, positive affect, and interpersonal problems. Post-hoc analyses revealed that Active Copers, the largest profile, reported the fewest depressive symptoms. Accordingly, frequent use of diverse, active coping behaviors was associated with enhanced resilience. Discussion is provided regarding the promotion of adaptive coping behaviors within this developmental period and the context of military family life.

The Willingness of Military Members to Seek Help: The Role of Social Involvement and Social Responsibility.

Anchored in the social organization theory of action and change, we use data from a large sample of active-duty Air Force members to examine the direct and indirect influence of social involvement and social responsibility on willingness to seek help in times of need via trust in formal systems and informal supports. Group comparisons are conducted between junior male, junior female, senior male, and senior female service members. The key mediational path in the model for all groups is the connection between social involvement and willingness to seek help via trust in formal systems. These results can inform both unit- and community-level interventions intended to increase the likelihood that active-duty AF members will seek help in times of need.

Parents' early life stressful experiences, their present well-being, and that of their children.

Parents' early life stressful experiences have lifelong consequences, not only for themselves but also for their children. The current study utilized a sample of military families (n = 266) including data from both active-duty and civilian parents and their adolescent children. Hypotheses reflecting principles of persistence, transmission, and proximity as pertaining to parents and their children were examined. The impact of parents' childhood experiences on their functioning later in life and, consequently, their adolescent children's well-being were examined. Adults who encountered more stressful childhood experiences, including relatively prevalent and less severe adversities (e.g., verbal conflict between parents) experienced poorer functioning than adults who encountered little early stress. Civilian parents' current functioning was related to adolescent children's well-being, whereas the functioning of active-duty parents was generally not related to children's well-being. Persistence, transmission, and proximity hypotheses were generally supported but with variations attributable to whether an adult was a military member. (PsycINFO Database Record

Family Relational Health, Psychological Resources, and Health Behaviors: A Dyadic Study of Military Couples.

In addition to facing stressors that are typical of life course development (e.g., marital struggles, balancing work/family demands), military families face additional stress attributed to their military context (e.g., deployments, relocations). Using a systems framework and stress process perspective, this study examined military couples' relational health, as a gauge for how couples collectively cope and address challenges as a united front and how their relational health influences crucial health behaviors (sleeping and eating) through the promotion or erosion of psychological resources (N = 236 couples). This study evaluated a latent variable structural equation dyadic model whereby each partner's perspective of their family's relational health was hypothesized to influence their own eating and sleeping behaviors (actor effects), as well as the eating and sleeping behaviors of their spouse (partner effects). The role of psychological resources (high self-efficacy, few depressive symptoms, and minimal anxiety) as a mechanism linking family functioning to health behaviors was also examined. Overall, the findings supported the hypothesized model, particularly for actor (intraindividual) effects. Discussion is provided pertinent to service providers and researchers, including the importance of improving, or maintaining, family relational health, as a means for encouraging positive health behaviors among active duty military members and their spouses.

Adolescent mental health and academic functioning: empirical support for contrasting models of risk and vulnerability.

Adolescents in military families contend with normative stressors that are universal and exist across social contexts (minority status, family disruptions, and social isolation) as well as stressors reflective of their military life context (e.g., parental deployment, school transitions, and living outside the United States). This study utilizes a social ecological perspective and a stress process lens to examine the relationship between multiple risk factors and relevant indicators of youth well-being, namely depressive symptoms and academic performance, as well as the mediating role of self-efficacy (N = 1,036). Three risk models were tested: an additive effects model (each risk factor uniquely influences outcomes), a full cumulative effects model (the collection of risk factors influences outcomes), a comparative model (a cumulative effects model exploring the differential effects of normative and military-related risks). This design allowed for the simultaneous examination of multiple risk factors and a comparison of alternative perspectives on measuring risk. Each model was predictive of depressive symptoms and academic performance through persistence; however, each model provides unique findings about the relationship between risk factors and youth outcomes. Discussion is provided pertinent to service providers and researchers on how risk is conceptualized and suggestions for identifying at-risk youth.

Heterogeneity in multidimensional health trajectories of late old years and socioeconomic stratification: a latent trajectory class analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines (a) the heterogeneity in individual multidimensional health trajectories and (b) the socioeconomic stratification of individual multidimensional health trajectories during the late older years. METHOD: This study used prospective data from 1,945 adults, 75 to 85 years old, collected over an 8-year period from the Health and Retirement Study. To examine inconsistent findings in the research literature, a latent trajectory class analysis was performed. RESULTS: Multidimensional overall health trajectories showed three heterogeneous latent classes (maintaining, persistently high, and deteriorating), and profiles of ascribed and achieved socioeconomic characteristics of multidimensional health trajectory classes showed a significant social and racial/ethnic stratification in late older years. DISCUSSION: Past adverse socioeconomic circumstances, including childhood and adulthood adversity, are potential sources of unobserved heterogeneity of multidimensional health trajectories even in late older years. The identification of members of latent trajectory health classes and the associated antecedents linked to health class membership are consistent with a life-course conceptual framework. Thus, multidimensional health capturing the full range of health problems needs to be investigated for proper examination of socioeconomic correlates of health. This facilitates the understanding of the associations between life-course experiences and health in late old age that ultimately have implications for prevention and intervention.

Family relationships and morale among people 65 years of age and older.

The interrelationship of specific types of family relationship--marital and parent-child relations in particular--among older adults is examined. Findings suggest that caution must be exercised when generalizing about the importance of family relationships in the lives of older adults, and that future inquiries should focus on the qualitative aspects of family relations. Suggestions for professionals dealing with older people are offered.