126-01: Couple Communication and Role Negotiation During a Period of Stress and Transition

Walsh’s Family Resilience Framework asserts that family organization patterns and communication processes will distinguish families who are able to display resilience following adversity. In this study, we examine families during a period of stress and transition to discover the role of communication processes in the renegotiation of family roles. Longitudinal data from National Guard couples during the months following a deployment were utilized. Communication was measured at two separate but related time scales: established patterns and daily strategies. Results indicated that communication at both time scales were related, but neither predicted role negotiations above and beyond deployment length, relationship length, and negotiations measured earlier.

Objectives

- To examine the process through which National Guard couples reestablish relationships following a military deployment.
- To test two components of the Family Resilience Framework: family organization and communication/problem-solving processes.
- To conceptualize communication at two levels: established patterns and daily interactions.

Keywords: communication, family processes, military families

126-02: Correlates of Help-Seeking Intentions Among Active-Duty Air Force Members in the Context of Family Maltreatment Perpetration

The purpose of this study was to assess associations between key social contexts in which active-duty Air Force members are embedded and intentions to seek formal services when engaging in problematic behavior, such as the perpetration of family maltreatment. The Reasoned Action Model was used to identify and conceptualize plausible mediating pathways, such as perceptions about stigma, developing a sense of community, and perceived barriers to seeking help. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that neighbor support, unit leader support, and unit peer support were significantly associated with each mediating variable, particularly career-related stigma, and career-related stigma was significantly associated with members’ intention to seek services, yielding significant and positive indirect associations between the independent variables and intention to seek services.

Objectives

- To identify key social environments that influence help-seeking intentions among active-duty Air Force members who self-report family maltreatment behavior.
- To highlight plausible pathways by which social environments influence help-seeking intentions using the Reasoned Action Model.
- To summarize practical implications for promoting help-seeking intentions among active-duty Air Force members to prevent family maltreatment.

Keywords: military families, violence, structural equation modeling (SEM)

126-03: Trajectories of Depression Symptoms During the Process of Deployment in Military Couples

Grounded in life course theory, this study compared longitudinal patterns of depression symptoms for service members and their partners in two groups:  a ‘completed’ and a ‘cancelled’ deployment group. We estimated service members’ and partners’ trajectories for both groups across the duration of a deployment cycle separately and tested for interdependence between couples’ depression levels. Similar trajectories emerged in each group, and an additional trajectory emerged that comprised higher levels of depression in the deploying group. Changes in service members’ and partners’ depression were correlated only for couples who were not separated by a deployment. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed.   

Objectives

- To compare depression trajectories between military couples who deployed to those who had their deployment cancelled. 
- To evaluate interdependence in depression symptoms between service members and spouses across time.
- To determine the effect of deployment on interdependence. 

Keywords: longitudinal research, military families, couples