Mental Health and Stress Among Army Civilians, Spouses, and Soldiers in a Closing Military Community

• Published date: 01 October 2019
• Author: Jeffrey L. Thomas,Amanda L. Adrian,Michael D. Wood,Coleen L. Crouch,James D. Lee,Amy B. Adler
• DOI: 10.1177/0095327X18771004
• Date: 01 October 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Mental Health and

Stress Among Army

Civilians, Spouses, and

Soldiers in a Closing

Military Community

Jeffrey L. Thomas

1

, Amanda L. Adrian

1

,

Michael D. Wood

1

, Coleen L. Crouch

1

,

James D. Lee

1

and Amy B. Adler

1

Abstract

When military community closure occurs, it can be challenging for service members

and the surrounding community. Given that services and social networks disappear;

this is particularly salient in overseas locations. Few studies have systematically

assessed the impact of base closure on military community members. In the present

study, 743 soldiers, 114 Army civilian employees, and 54 military spouses living in

two closing U.S. military communities in Germany were surveyed about transfor-

mation stressors, mental health, and factors associated with better adjustment such

as individual coping, leadership behaviors, and community cohesion. While individual

coping was associated with fewer sleep problems, and individual coping and lead-

ership were associated with less psychological distress, community cohesion gen-

erally overrode these effects in the final step of regression models. Thus, while

coping and leadership are important, community connection appears to confer

benefits to the affected individuals even in the context of base closure.

1

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA

Corresponding Author:

Jeffrey L. Thomas, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring,

MD 20910, USA.

Email: jeffrey.l.thomas.mil@mail.mil

Armed Forces & Society

2019, Vol. 45(4) 612-636

ªThe Author(s) 2018

Article reuse guidelines:

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X18771004

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Keywords

drawdown, DA civilians, military spouses, military communities, Germany, mental

health, stress

Military installations are an integral part of local municipalities that include both the

military post and the larger civilian community (Thanner & Segal, 2008). The

presence of a military installation has an impact on population density, economic

direction, and social networks (Hicks & Raney, 2003) and provides essential ser-

vices to military community members such as medical care, housing, food, shop-

ping, and recreational activities to the members of the military community. For those

with families, these services include education and family-based activities.

Although many military communities provide a stable presence for service mem-

bers, families, and retirees, they are part of a larger organization that is continuously

adapting to changes in the national military strategy. This strategy necessitates that

military communities are able to transform to meet these changing military needs.

Such transformation includes changes in force location and changes in force struc-

ture. When force structure increases, the military community has to absorb the larger

number of incoming service members and their families by adjusting housing and

support services. When force structure decreases, the military community may

shrink in response or may even be selected for closure.

Military Community Closure

Military community closure can be challenging for both the service members and the

surrounding community. In a case study, Thanner and Segal (2008) provided the first

in-depth description of how base closure in the United States affected the local

community in terms of social institutions and interpersonal relationships, with a

focus on remaining community members. Communities are not only important for

providing services, they also provide important social networks. Indeed, research

has demonstrated the importance of community networks for physical and mental

health (e.g., Holt-Lunstad, Smith, & Layton, 2010; Miyawaki, 2015). Thus, disrupt-

ing a community through closure may have a negative impact on the well-being of

its residents and changes in employment patterns (Thanner & Segal, 2008). While

base closure affects many groups, including contracted employees and the civilian

community, the focus of the current article is on service members, their spouses, and

Department of the Army (DA) civilian employees. There are few reports in the

literature about the impact of base closure on these populations.

Downsizing is not new. The military has been experiencing it and its toll on

morale for generations (Thompson, 2002). The few studies that are available high-

light issues associated with logistics of drawdown (e.g., Hinton et al., 1991) and base

consolidation (Lepore et al., 2009). Other researchers have examined the

Thomas et al. 613