Publications
Research Publication 2
Title Publication Date/Location
Families serve too: military spouse well-being after separation from active-duty service Anxiety, Stress & Coping ePub; 2022 March

Corry NH, Joneydi R, McMaster HS, Williams CS, Glynn S, Spera C, Stander VA

A life course model was applied to assess spouse well-being following the transition from military to civilian life. Spouses of service members who had separated from the military (versus those who had not) reported poorer mental health and family relationship quality. Spouses of active-duty service members reported greater increases in work-family conflict. Protective factors included having more psychological and social resources and less financial stress.

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Risk and Protective Factors Predictive of Marital Instability in U.S. Military Couples Journal of Family Psychology ePub; 2021 Dec

Pflieger JC, Richardson SM, Stander VA, Allen ES

The objective of this study was to predict marital instability from a range of risk and protective factors in a large, representative cohort of military couples participating in the Millennium Cohort Family Study. Factors analyzed include mental health, family communication, military experiences, and education level. Findings from this study can be used to target specific couples risk factors for marital instability and to tailor programs to at-risk subgroups.

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The Role of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Negative Affect in Predicting Substantiated Intimate Partner Violence Incidents Among Military Personnel Military Behavioral Health 9(4); 2021 Aug

Stander VA, Woodall KA, Richardson SM, Thomsen CJ, Milner JS, McCarroll JE, Riggs DS, Cozza SJ, for the Millennium Cohort Research Team.

Increasing rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military populations may indicate heightened risk for aggression, including aggression among domestic partners. Using longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study, we evaluated the association of PTSD symptom clusters and comorbid conditions as predictors of incidents of met criteria incidents of domestic abuse (physical and psychological) from DoD Family Advocacy Program (FAP) Central Registry data. Among 54,667 active-duty personnel who responded to the 2011 survey, FAP records documented 501 participants (1%) with incidents of emotional or physical met criteria incidents of aggression in the data collection period. Results showed that certain aspects of PTSD and behavioral health problems predicted incidents. In particular, general PTSD symptoms (e.g., anger/irritability, sleep disruption) and comorbid alcohol dependence were stronger predictors than trauma-specific PTSD symptomology (e.g., reexperiencing, hypervigilance). These results indicate that clinicians should consider the interpersonal consequences of PTSD and related behavioral problems.

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Associations between spouse and service member prescriptions for high-risk and long-term opioids: a dyadic study Addictive Behaviors Reports 2021 June; 14

Sparks AC, Radakrishnan S, Corry NH, McDonald D, Carlson K, Carballo CE, Stander, V.

This study explores the extent to which military spouses’ obtainment of opioids is associated with their service member partners’ obtainment of opioid prescriptions, in addition to other factors such as service member health, state prescribing patterns, and sociodemographic characteristics. Findings suggest that reducing the number of long-term and high-risk opioid prescriptions to service members may subsequently reduce the number of similar prescriptions obtained by their spouses. Reducing the number of service members and spouses at risk for adverse events may prove to be effective in stemming the opioid epidemic and improve the overall health and safety of military spouses and thus, the readiness of the U.S. Armed Forces.

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Comparison of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist Instruments from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition vs Fifth Edition in a Large Cohort of US Military Service Members and Veterans JAMA Network Open 2021 April; 4(4): e218072

LeardMann CA, McMaster HS, Warner S, Esquivel AP, Porter B, Powell TM, Tu XM, Lee WW, Rull RP, Hoge CW

To assist in the longitudinal assessment of PTSD spanning the transition between the DSM-IV and DSM-V, we compared the PTSD Checklist-Civilian version (PCL-C) with the PCL for DSM-5 (PCL-5) in a sample of 1,921 participants from the Millennium Cohort Study. There was substantial to excellent agreement when comparing individual items, frequency of probably PTSD, and sum scores; and nearly identical associations with comorbid conditions. Our results provide support that PTSD can be successfully assessed and compared over time with either PCL instrument in veteran and military populations.

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Demographic variation in military life stress and perceived support among military spouses Military Medicine 2021 Jan; 186(1):214-221

Corry NH, Williams CS, Radakrishnan S, McMaster HS, Sparks AC, Briggs-King EC, Karon SS, Stander VA

Military spouses play a critical role in supporting service members and the family unit, and experience unique stressors as a result of military life. Using data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study, a nationwide survey of 9,872 married spouses of service members with 2–5 years of military service, we examined differences in experiences of military life stress and perceived support across multiple subgroups of military spouses to identify groups potentially at risk. Key outcomes included military-related stressors, perceived social support and support from the military, and coping; predictors included spouse sociodemographic, military population, and family characteristics. Certain spouses (>35 years, had a high school diploma or less, fulltime or not employed, had 2+ children, or married to service members in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps) were more likely to experience heightened military stress, less social support, and/or poorer coping skills. Findings may inform culturally relevant initiatives to enhance social support and connectedness among at-risk military spouses.

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The impact of family stressors and resources on military spouse's perception of post-deployment reunion stress Military Psychology 2020 Nov; 32(6):369-379

Mallonee SD, Riggs D, Stander VA

This study explored the relationship between a variety of variables and the spouse's perception of reunion stress both independently and within their shared context. Results largely confirmed prior research on the independent relationship between each variable and reunion stress. However, the results found that many of these variables did not remain significant in the full model. Indeed, only poorer mental health among spouses and service members and greater perceived stressfulness of communication was associated with increased reunion stress as reported by spouses across all models tested.

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Alcohol misuse and separation from military service: A dyadic perspective Addictive Behaviors 2020 Nov;110:106512

Porter B, Rodriguez LM, Woodall KA, Pflieger JC, Stander VA

Poor outcomes result from service member alcohol misuse, but the extent to which military spouses' alcohol misuse impacts service members is unclear. This study evaluated the influence of dyadic patterns of alcohol misuse on likelihood of separating from the military among 7,965 opposite sex married couples with one military and one civilian/veteran spouse. The prevalence of alcohol misuse among military couples was high, but alcohol misuse frequently was reported by only one member of a couple. Results indicated that service member alcohol misuse was more strongly related to military separation than spouse alcohol misuse. Additionally, the study indicated that heavy weekly drinking was a stronger predictor of separation among female than male service members. Future research should replicate this finding and further evaluate the implications of this gender difference.

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Influence of work and life stressors on marital quality among dual and non-dual military couples Journal of Family Issues 2020 Nov;41(11):2045-2064

Woodall KA, Richardson SM, Pflieger JC, Hawkins SA, Stander VA

Maintaining a healthy marriage may be challenging for military couples as they attempt to balance the demands of work and family; for dual-military couples, this can be even more challenging. Using data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study, we examined whether military stress experiences negatively impact marital quality through the mediation of work-family conflict. Spouse gender and dual-military status were included as moderators. Results demonstrated that more military stress experiences was related to lower marital quality, which was mediated by work-family conflict. Additionally, female dual spouses reported lower marital quality than male dual spouses and civilian spouses. Findings from this study highlight the importance of providing support to military spouses for stressful military events and potentially tailoring support services for female dual spouses to improve marital quality.

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A Model of Deployment Readiness among Military Spouses: The Role of Mental Health and Deployment-Related Personal Growth Military Behavioral Health 2020 Oct; 8(4): 378-395

Richardson SM, Pflieger JC, Woodall KA, Stander VA, Riviere LA

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine deployment-related risks, resources, and mediators contributing to military spouse perception of readiness for future service member deployments. Findings indicated that service member combat and injury negatively impacted spouse perception of deployment readiness through detriments to service member and spouse mental health. However, informal support and deployment communication were positively related to mental health for both partners, leading to improved spouse-perceived deployment readiness.

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