| Title | Publication | Date/Location |
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| Military life stressors, family communication and satisfaction: Associations with children’s psychosocial outcomes | Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma | 2019 May;13(1):75-87 |
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Briggs EC, Fairbank JA, Tunno AM, Lee RC, Corry NH, Pflieger JC, Stander VA, Murphy RA The purpose of this study was to examine facets of military life and family factors that may impact child psychosocial and mental health functioning. Using baseline data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study, this study examined family demographics and composition (age, number of children), military life stressors (injury, family, and deployment stressors), family communication and satisfaction, parental social functioning, and child mental health and behavioral functioning. Injury- and family-related military stressors were significant indicators of heightened risk for child mental health conditions, whereas greater levels of parental social functioning and family satisfaction were associated with lower risk of child mental health conditions. Differential associations were found in child functioning when military-related variables (e.g., service component), sociodemographic, and family composition factors (number and age of the children in the home) were examined. These findings underscore the importance of examining the “whole child” within the broader ecological and military family context to understand factors associated with children’s mental and behavioral health. The results have considerable implications for the development of policies to support children and families encountering multiple stressors related to a parent’s military service. |
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| Association of military life experiences and health indicators among military spouses | BMC Public Health | 2019 Nov;19(1):1517 |
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Corry NH, Radakrishnan S, Williams CS, Sparks AC, Woodall KA, Fairbank JA, Stander VA The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which military spouses' health behaviors met national physical health goals (Healthy People 2020), and to assess associations between health behaviors and sociodemographic characteristics, military experiences, and psychosocial factors. Attainment of national health goals was measured using six indicators of health: 1) healthy weight (body mass index), 2) aerobic exercise, 3) strength training, 4) sleep, 5) alcohol use (risky drinking), and 6) tobacco use. Overall, the majority of military spouses and service members met most of the HP2020 goals analyzed in the study, and the behaviors of each member of the couple were moderately correlated. Greater social support and perceived support from the military, in addition to several demographic variables, were associated with a greater likelihood of meeting the Healthy People 2020 goals among military spouses. |
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| Patterns of strengths in U.S. military couples | Journal of Child and Family Studies | 2019 Sep;29:1249–1263 |
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Pflieger JC, Porter B, Carballo CE, Stander VA, Corry NH This study examined patterns of strengths among military couples in the Millennium Cohort Family Study (n = 9,642), including beliefs (self-mastery, positive outlook, spirituality), social support, and family communication. Results supported five patterns of strengths, with 58.4% of couples exhibiting a pattern of high strengths; 33.6% of couples exhibiting two patterns in which one member of the couple was higher on strengths than the other member; 5.1% of couples exhibiting a pattern of low strengths; and 2.9% of couples exhibiting a pattern of moderately high beliefs and social support, yet very low family communication. Higher spouse education level and service member officer rank consistently distinguished patterns of high strengths, whereas couples with lower mental health, marital quality, and military satisfaction were more likely to exhibit patterns of low strengths. These results provide a snapshot of couples early in the military career cycle and highlight the need to adopt a family-centered perspective in military resilience programs and policies. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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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| High-risk and long-term opioid prescribing to military spouses in the Millennium Cohort Family Study | Military Medicine | 2020 Sep;185(9-10):e1759-e1769 |
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McDonald DC, Radakrishnan S, Sparks AC, Corry NH, Carballo CE, Carlson K, Stander VA The use and misuse of opioids by active service members has been examined in several studies, but little is known about their spouses' opioid use. This study estimates the number of military spouses who received high-risk or long-term opioid prescriptions between 2010 and 2014, and addresses how the Military Health System can help prevent risky prescribing in order to improve military force readiness. Using data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study and the Pharmacy Data Transaction Service, this study found that nearly 1 in 10 military spouses received an opioid prescription that put their health at risk. Spouses with physical pain, a lack of social support, and adverse childhood experiences were all associated with receiving higher risk opioid prescriptions. |
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| Reducing the length of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support | European Journal of Psychological Assessment | 2020 Sep;36(5):829-838 |
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Porter B, Kolaja CA, Powell TM, Pflieger JC, Stander VA, Armenta RA This study establishes the utility and validity of a shortened version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Using data from the first follow-up survey of the Millennium Cohort Family Study and a sample of university undergraduate students, results demonstrated that a scale half the length of the original measure (six items) assessed perceived social support about equally well as the full length MSPSS. Therefore, future Millennium Cohort and Millennium Cohort Family Study questionnaires will contain the reduced measure, saving participants time without sacrificing data quality. |
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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 |
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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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