Deployment‐Related Benefit Finding and Postdeployment Marital Satisfaction in Military Couples

• Date: 01 December 2017
• Author: Keith D. Renshaw,Sarah B. Campbell
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12249

Deployment-Related Benefit Finding and

Postdeployment Marital Satisfaction in Military

Couples

KEITH D. RENSHAW*

SARAH B. CAMPBELL*

Extensive research has evaluated potential negative effects of military deployments on

romantic relationships. Comparatively few studies have examined potential positive effects

of such deployments. In stressful situations, benefit finding (BF) has been found to be

linked with better functioning on both individual and interpersonal levels. This study

reports on deployment-related BF in a sample of 67 male service members (SMs) who

deployed at least once since 9/11/2001 and their wives. Couples completed measures of

marital satisfaction at baseline (an average of 1 year postdeployment) and follow-up

4–6 months later. At follow-up, SMs also provided data on symptoms of posttraumatic

stress, and both partners provided reports of deployment-related BF. Multivariate path

analysis controlling for SMs’ PTSD symptom severity revealed that wives’ BF was posi-

tively associated with increases in SMs’ relationship satisfaction. These findings suggest

that wives’ responses to deployment may be more influential than SMs’ responses to deploy-

ment on military couples’ relationships. This pattern indicates that support for spouses

during deployments is essential; furthermore, such support should include an emphasis on

trying to facilitate personal growth in spouses.

Keywords: Military; Deployment; Benefit Finding; Couples; Marital Satisfaction

Fam Proc 56:915–925, 2017

Agreat deal of research over the past decade has focused on effects of combat deploy-

ments on service members (SMs) in the context of the recent conflicts in Iraq and

Afghanistan. Much of that work has focused on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),

some of which has included a focus on SMs’ relationships. Two recent meta-analyses have

shown a clear link between PTSD (diagnosis or symptoms) in SMs and relationship dis-

tress in SMs (Taft, Watkins, Stafford, Street, & Monson, 2011) and their partners (Lam-

bert, Engh, Hasbun, & Holzer, 2012). In turn, additional research has shown that

relationship problems are associated with poorer prognosis for PTSD, poorer response to

treatment for PTSD, and less treatment-seeking in the context of PTSD (Evans, Cow-

lishaw, Forbes, Parslow, & Lewis, 2010; Evans, Cowlishaw, & Hopwood, 2009; Meis,

Barry, Kehle, Erbes, & Polusny, 2010). In addition to distress caused by PTSD, research

has also shown that deployments themselves are associated with distress in partners (e.g.,

Allen, Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, 2011), and difficulties with postdeployment reinte-

gration can be associated with further problems in relationships (Sayers, Farrow , Ross, &

Oslin, 2009).

*Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Keith D. Renshaw, Department of

Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr. MSN 3F5, Fairfax, VA 22030. E-mail:

krenshaw@gmu.edu.

915

Family Process, Vol. 56, No. 4, 2017 ©2016 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12249