Substance Use and Mental Health Among Military Spouses and Partners

Abstract

Research on the behavioral health of military spouses/partners is essential, yet lacking. Data on 344 civilian spouses were drawn from a study of U.S. Army Reserve/National Guard soldier couples. This project characterizes civilian spouses’ behavioral health symptoms. Regression analyses assessed the relationship between substance use and mental health symptoms. Overall, findings indicate civilian spouses had behavioral health impairments. Mental health, alcohol use, and tobacco use did not differ by soldiers’ deployment history; illicit drug use and nonmedical use of prescription drugs did at trend level. Support initiatives focusing on all military spouses, not just those of deployed soldiers, are needed.

Keywords:

• military spouses
• Reserve
• National Guard
• depression
• anxiety
• anger
• alcohol use
• cigarette use
• nonmedical use of prescription drugs
• deployment

Financial disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01DA034072 (Gregory G. Homish); National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number UL1TR001412 to the University at Buffalo; Health Resources and Services Administration award number T32HP30035 (PI: L. Kahn) in support of Jessica A. Kulak; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism award number T32AA007583 (PI: K. Leonard) in support of Jennifer Fillo. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.