EVERYTHING HERE IS FINE: PROTECTIVE BUFFERING BY MILITARY SPOUSES DURING A DEPLOYMENT
Sarah P. Carter, Keith D. Renshaw, Elizabeth S. Allen, Howard J. Markman, & Scott M. Stanley

Open access on the publisher’s website for two months.

STUDY TAKEAWAYS

• It is common for civilian partners to struggle with how much information to share with their Service members during deployment given that such conversations might distract the Service members during high-risk situations, putting them or others in danger. Thus, some civilian partners report using protective buffering during deployments where they do not readily share concerns from the home front and/or conceal problems or information to shield their Service member.
• This study (N=54 military couples) examined associations between the civilian partner’s use of protective buffering, the Service member’s family-related distraction (i.e., thinking about family members or family situations while performing job duties), and both partners’ marital satisfaction and psychological distress across the deployment cycle (i.e., predeployment, during deployment, and postdeployment).
• Although almost all civilian partners reported using protective buffering during deployment, this strategy was not associated with the Service members’ being less distracted by family-related concerns while deployed. Instead, protective buffering was associated with higher psychological distress and lower levels of marital satisfaction for both the civilian partner and the Service member.

2020 Research Award Finalists

TRAIT MINDFULNESS AND ANGER IN THE FAMILY: A DYADIC ANALYSIS OF MALE SERVICE MEMBERS AND THEIR FEMALE PARTNERS
Na Zhang, Timothy F. Piehler , Abigail H. Gewirtz, Osnat Zamir, & J. Snyder

Open access on the publisher’s website for two months.

STUDY TAKEAWAYS

• Service members who have been previously deployed sometimes demonstrate anger symptoms that can negatively impact themselves and their families. Trait mindfulness, the tendency to be non-judgmentally present in the moment, may help reduce anger and the relational impacts of anger.
• Using data from 155 heterosexual military couples, this study examined how three different facets of trait mindfulness: (1) acting with awareness (i.e., being aware of one’s thoughts and emotions), (2) non-judging (i.e., not judging one’s thoughts and emotions), and (3) non-reactivity (i.e., not impulsively acting on one’s thoughts and emotions) were associated with anger that was observed during a conflict resolution task.
• For both mothers and fathers, non-reactivity was associated with less observed anger. Mothers’ non-reactivity was also associated with less observed anger of fathers. Neither acting with awareness nor non-judging were related to anger.

STICKING IT OUT IN TRAUMA-FOCUSED TREATMENT FOR PTSD: IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Laura A. Meis, Siamak Noorbaloochi, Emily M. Hagel Campbell, Christopher R. Erbes, Melissa A. Polusny, Tina L. Velasquez, Ann Bangerter, Andrea Cutting, Afsoon Eftekhari, Craig S. Rosen, Peter W. Tuerk, Lori B. Burmeister, & Michele R. Spoont

Open access on the publisher’s website for two months.

STUDY TAKEAWAYS

• Trauma-focused treatment is known to help those who struggle with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience fewer symptoms, but the number of Veterans who drop out before completing PTSD treatment is concerning.
• This study examined how social control (i.e., explicit support efforts by a loved one to get their Veteran to complete PTSD treatment and face any difficult emotions along the way) and PTSD symptom accommodation (i.e., a loved one changing his/her behaviors to lessen or avoid the stress that their Veteran may experience during PTSD treatment) were related to Veterans’ treatment completion. Additionally, this study also explored whether these associations varied by the Veteran’s perceived relationship strain (i.e., feeling like a loved one is critical of them or stress in the relationship).
• Veterans who received encouragement from their partner to face the difficult phases of treatment (i.e., experienced social control) were more likely to complete treatment. Social control was not related to lower likelihood of treatment dropout for Veterans with high-strain relationships. That is, when Veterans felt supported and encouraged by their partner, they were likely to remain in treatment regardless of relationship strain.

SEXUAL ASSAULT EXPERIENCES VARY FOR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY WOMEN DEPENDING ON THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THE PERPETRATOR
Dina Eliezer, Aubrey J. Hilbert, Lisa H. Davis, Kimberly Hylton, William Xav Klauberg, Maia M. Hurley, Zachary J. Gitlin, Karmon D. Dyches, & Nathan W. Galbreth

Open access on the publisher’s website for two months.

STUDY TAKEAWAYS

• Prevention of sexual assault is an ongoing topic of discussion among military policy makers and clinicians, yet little research has focused on these experiences specifically among active-duty Service members.
• Using a sample of active-duty women (N = 1,230) who had experienced sexual assault in the past 12 months, this study explored differences in sexual assault experiences (e.g., type of sexual assault, location, support after reporting) based on the women’s relationship to the perpetrator (i.e., intimate partner, friend/acquaintance, stranger, not specified).
• Most women were assaulted by someone they knew. Further, women assaulted by an intimate partner were also more likely to report sexual harassment before and after the assault; these women also had greater difficulty garnering support from military leadership and victim advocates after reporting compared to those who were assaulted by non-intimate partners (e.g., strangers, acquaintance).

MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS AND THE REINTEGRATION DIFFICULTY OF MILITARY COUPLES FOLLOWING DEPLOYMENT: A LONGITUDINAL APPLICATION OF THE RELATIONAL TURBULENCE MODEL
Leanne K. Knobloch, Lynne M. Knobloch-Fedders, & Jeremy B. Yorgason

Open access on the publisher’s website for two months.

STUDY TAKEAWAYS

• The transition from deployment to reintegration is a difficult time for Service members and their at-home partners. Drawing on suppositions of relationship turbulence theory, this study examined the extent to which relationship uncertainty and partner interference (i.e., disruption in daily routines) may link mental health concerns to reintegration difficulty. Furthermore, this study also explored when Service members and their at-home partners tend to experience reintegration difficulty.
• Data were collected from 555 military couples over eight consecutive months. On average, military couples began their participation in the study approximately 4 days after returning from deployment.
• The results highlight the complex role relationship uncertainty and partner interference play in explaining the link between mental health and reintegration difficulty. Examination of Service members and at-home spouses’ reports of reintegration difficulties across time showed that military couples tend to experience the greatest amount of reintegration difficulty approximately 4- 5 weeks after the Service member returns from deployment.