Publications
Research Publication 2
Title Publication Date/Location
Family Separation from Military Service and Children's Externalizing Symptoms: Exploring Moderation by Non-military Spouse Employment, Family Financial Stress, Marital Quality, and the Parenting Alliance 2023 November Published, online

Richardson, S.M., Pflieger, J.C., Hisle-Gorman, E., Briggs, E.C., Fairbank, J.A., & Stander, V.A.

During a 3-year follow-up period, we investigated how family separation from the military affects the behavioral adjustment of early school-age children. We also explored whether factors such as military spouse employment, parental financial stress, marital quality, or the parenting alliance influenced children’s adjustment during this transition. Our results indicated that when the spouse was employed and the family separated from the military, children exhibited fewer behavioral problems. Additionally, we found that a strong parenting alliance was associated with decreased behavioral problems among children in families that remained in the military.

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The development, validity, and reliability of a brief self-report measure of family resilience in military families 2024 February Published, online

Ray, T.R., Esquivel, A.P., Stander, V. A., McMaster, H.S., Roesch, S. C., & Walsh, F.

Military service is associated with a host of stressors that can adversely affect the health and well-being of service members and their families. We developed and validated a brief measure of military family resilience based on the Walsh Family Resilience Framework to assess shared belief systems, organizational patterns, and communication processes. The brief 9-item scale demonstrated strong reliability and validity and has practical utility for military family research.

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The role of the problem solving appraisal and support in the relationship between stress exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms of military spouses and service member partners 2024 January Published, online

Sullivan, K.S., Park, Y., Richardson, S., Stander, V., & Jaccard, J.

This paper examined the relationship between individual and family-level stress exposures and military spouse resources, and their association with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among both partners. Spouse resources had both protective and promotive effects on PTSS for both service members and spouses. These findings emphasize the central role spouses play in military families.

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Smoking and drinking behaviors of military spouses: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Family Study Addictive Behaviors 2017 Sep;77:121-130

Trone DW, Powell TM, Bauer LM, Seelig AD, Peterson AV, Littman AJ, Williams EC, Maynard CC, Bricker JB, Boyko EJ

This cross-sectional study assesses the associations between stressful military experiences and tobacco use and alcohol misuse among Service member spouses. Our findings suggest that contextual characteristics about the deployment experience, as well as the perceived stress of those experiences, may be more impactful than the simple fact of Service member deployment itself. These results suggest that considering the impact of deployment experiences on military spouses reveals important dimensions of military community adaptation and risk.

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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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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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Partner Effects: Analyzing Service Member and Spouse Drinking Over Time American Journal of Preventative Medicine 2023 April

Joneydi, R., Sparks, A.C., Kolenikov, S., Jacobson, I. G., Knoblock, L.K., Williams, C.S., Pflieger, J.C., Corry, N.H., Stander, V.A.

Excessive alcohol use is a significant problem in the military. Although there is a growing emphasis on family-centered alcohol prevention approaches, little is known about the interplay between partners’ drinking behaviors. This study examines how service members and their spouses influence each other's drinking behavior over time and explores the complex individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors that may contribute to alcohol use.

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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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Assessing and adjusting for non-response in the Millennium Cohort Family Study BMC Medical Research Methodology 2017 Jan;17:16

Corry NH, Williams CS, Battaglia M, McMaster HS, Stander VA

This paper examines factors contributing to second stage survey non-response during the baseline data collection for the Millennium Cohort Family Study, a large longitudinal study of US service members and their spouses from all branches of the military. Due to its design features, the Family Study offers a unique opportunity to thoroughly examine and adjust for non-response bias among military spouses by analysing extensive data collected from their service member partners on the Millennium Cohort survey, including sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics. This study contributes to the interpretation and use of the Family Study data by describing the sample and examining and addressing systematic non-response in the baseline sample and provides insights to inform future study designs and recruitment practices involving military spouses.

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An experimental comparison of web-push vs. paper-only survey procedures for conducting an in-depth health survey of military spouses BMC Medical Research Methodology 2017 Apr;17:73

McMaster HS, LeardMann CA, Speigle S, Dillman DA

An experiment was conducted to compare two methods for surveying spouses married to U.S. Service members. Military spouses were assigned to either a web-push group (requesting online survey completion initially and then in later contacts offering a paper option) or to a paper-only group (requesting response by paper survey only). The web-push approach produced a significantly higher response rate and was less expensive than the paper-only approach, with no meaningful differences in spouse demographic, military, and health characteristics. Results suggest that a web-approach may be more effective with young military spouses because of their heavy reliance on the internet and that this may also hold true for the general population as they become more uniformly internet savvy.

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