https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-cwo_mlgTRIP

O’Neal, C. W., Lucier-Greer, M., & Mancini, J. A. (2019). The role of community context and psychological well-being for physical health: A dyadic study of military couples. Military Psychology, 31(3), 200-211. https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2019.1579608

Military families may navigate stress in a positive way when they are connected to their community through formal systems (e.g., programs) and informal networks (e.g., friends). Although community context (i.e., military community connection, military life satisfaction) has been linked to mental health among military populations, less is known about how community context may be linked to physical health in active duty service members and their families. Guided by the social organizational theory of community action and change, data were collected from 236 married military couples to examine the links among community context, psychological well-being (i.e., anxiety, depression, self-efficacy), and physical health (i.e., overall general rating of health, perceptions of physical limitations, and recent changes in health). The results indicate that community factors are associated with psychological well-being, which is then associated with physical health.

https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2019.1579608

Couples
Mental health
Physical health

Army

Active Duty

Active duty service member
Spouse of service member or veteran

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)

Cross-Sectional Study
Quantitative Study
Secondary Analysis

O’Neal, Catherine W., Lucier-Greer, Mallory, Mancini, Jay A.

Drawing from the social organizational theory of community action and change (SOAC) within a systemic biopsychosocial perspective, associations between community context (military community connections and satisfaction with military life), psychological well-being (depressive symptoms, anxiety, and self-efficacy), and physical health were examined for a sample of active duty service members and their civilian spouses (N = 236 couples) using an actor partner interdependence framework. Service members with higher levels of military community connections reported better psychological well-being. When civilian spouses were more satisfied with military life, both partners reported better psychological well-being. In turn, both spouses’ psychological well-being was related to their own reports of physical health. Statistically significant indirect effects were found between community contexts and spouses’ physical health. Enhancing community connections may be an important leverage point for supporting health and family readiness.

Taylor & Francis

Article
REACH Publication

Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, CWO
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University, MLG
Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, JAM