Relationship satisfaction and mental health treatment among active-duty military.

Abstract

An association between relationship satisfaction and mental health symptoms has been well established in research. Specifically, mental health concerns, such as trauma symptoms and depression, have been related to lower relationship satisfaction. Research has explored the correlation between relationship satisfaction and mental health symptoms during treatment but not among active-duty military and not examining a between-person and within-person effect. Therefore, the present study investigates these variables among 178 married, activeduty service members undergoing individual outpatient treatment. A linear mixed-effects regression model estimated a linear growth curve for distress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) outcomes, controlling for demographic, relationship, and military variables. Results indicated that participants with higher average relationship satisfaction had lower average distress and PTSD scores. Higher average relationship satisfaction was not associated with the rate of change in distress and PTSD across time. For individuals whose increases in relationship satisfaction were greater than expected, there was an associated within-person decrease in distress and PTSD scores, accounting for the between-person component of change in satisfaction. The identification of a within-person association separate from the between-person association suggests that there was a longitudinal correspondence between change in relationship satisfaction and change in distress and PTSD scores within individuals. Though limited by a lack of precise interventional data, this study provides preliminary evidence that individual treatments may help intrapersonal symptom improvement by attending to perceived relationship satisfaction. These findings are particularly relevant to military psychology.

“Imperfect Love”: The Effect of Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Relationship Commitment on Relationship Satisfaction

“…This is confirmed by previous research on relationship uncertainty which found that individuals who are more certain about their relationships have higher levels of commitment to the relationship and engage in more behaviors to maintain the relationship [20]. Overall, a considerable amount of research links mental health to romantic relationship outcomes [21][22][23]. Investigating whether there is a similar link between disorder symptoms when comparing individuals in committed, monogamous relationships versus individuals in non-committed, non-monogamous relationships can provide additional insight into interpersonal functioning.…”

Couples in arms: Marital distress, psychopathology, and suicidal ideation in active-duty Army personnel.

“…Among active-duty Army couples, PTSD symptoms were associated with higher concurrent marital distress for both spouses (Allen, Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, 2010), and returning from deployment with PTSD symptoms predicted an increase in subsequent divorce likelihood of 10 -20% among soldiers and 50 -75% among officers (Negrusa & Negrusa, 2014). Linear growth curve analyses of changes in relationship distress and PTSD symptoms in active-duty service members undergoing individual mental health treatment have suggested that the longitudinal association between relationship distress and PTSD symptoms is a function of a within-individual process (i.e., participants' individual-level deviation from their own average relationship satisfaction scores, reflecting that individuals with positive change in their marriages over the course of treatment experienced greater reductions in PTSD symptoms than would otherwise be predicted; Edwards-Stewart et al, 2018).…”

Risk for suicide attempts among United States Air Force active duty members with suicide ideation: An ecological perspective.

“…This finding reinforces the necessity of assessing and addressing IPV directly, as it may be a key stressor among service members who are in relationships and at high risk for self-harm. Attending to relation-ship satisfaction, safety, and longevity may promote mental health among active duty military (Edwards-Stewart et al, 2018).…”