The Relationship Between Parent–Soldier Communication and Postdeployment Soldier Mental Health

Abstract

National Guard members experience significant challenges surrounding deployment and reintegration. The supportive role of the relationship with a parent through the deployment cycle merits exploration. This longitudinal study of National Guard soldiers examined the relationship between soldier communication with one or more of their parents predeployment and mental health outcomes at reintegration and one year postdeployment. A stronger predeployment parent–soldier relationship is associated with good mental health outcomes at reintegration, and one year later. Additionally, communicating more frequently with a parent predeployment is indirectly associated with improved mental health outcomes, as long as the parent–soldier relationship is positive.

Keywords:

• Military families
• parent
• communication

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs through the Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program under Award No. W81XWH-12-1-0419 and 0418 (Blow, PI; Gorman, Partnering PI). Predeployment data collection was supported by the Rachel Upjohn Clinical Scholars Award and the Berman Research Fund at the University of Michigan, Depression Center as well as the College of Social Science and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University. This article represents the original work of the authors and has not been published or simultaneously submitted elsewhere.

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded by a grant provided by the United States Department of Defense, and more specifically, the Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP).