An Exploratory Study on the Well-Being of Military Spouses: Merging Quantitative and Qualitative Data

Background:  The well-being of the spouse is crucial to the success and healthy functioning of the military family.  Military spouses are chiefly responsible for maintaining balance and stability within the household, and when their well-being is compromised, the entire family system is affected.  A surge in research on military families since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has brought increased awareness to the unique experiences of military spouses and has raised concerns about their well-being.  Despite this attention, few studies have sought to gain a comprehensive understanding of military spousal well-being.  

This paper adds to the growing body of research on active-duty military spouses by exploring and identifying multi-systemic influences that may be associated with the social, physical, and/or mental domains of military spousal well-being.  Participants also shared their perspectives on different aspects of the military lifestyle.

Methods:  Data was collected using a multi-method on-line recruitment strategy and web-based survey design integrating a mix of both quantitative and qualitative elements.  The study sample included data from 300 spouses of active-duty Service personnel representing all branches of service and ranks, living within both the United States and overseas.  The quantitative component of the survey included a wide range of demographic, family, military lifestyle, and service utilization questions along with a battery of standardized instruments measuring various risk and protective factors (perceived stress, family satisfaction and communication, life events, resilience, and life satisfaction) associated with personal well-being.  The quantitative outcome measures included the mental (MCS) and physical (PSC) component scores of the SF-12v2 as well as a modified version of the MOS-Social Support Scale; analysis was conducted using independent samples t-tests and hierarchical regression analyses.  Qualitative thematic analysis examined participants’ perceptions of the influence of the military on their parenting experiences and style, the rewards and challenges of military life, and their words of advice to spouses who are new to the military lifestyle.  The quantitative and qualitative data was converged to compare and contrast the findings. 

Results:  Results of the study found significant differences in well-being scores among subsamples of participants divided by employment status, race, and Service member rank.  Separate hierarchical regression analyses findings revealed that the selected risk and protective factor characteristics predicted a significant amount of variance among each domain of well-being however the socio-demographic characteristics (age, employment status, and Service member Rank) only added to the predictive power of outcomes scores in the mental component of well-being.  Overall, the findings yielded many similarities between findings.   The most prominent dissimilarity between the findings were primarily related to deployment, described as the greatest challenge by participants with no significant relationship to the outcomes.

Conclusions and Implications:  The implications drawn from the present study’s findings highlight areas for consideration within the social work profession that may help to guide subsequent efforts toward supporting military spouses and their families.  Next steps include instrumentation improvement and replication with underrepresented subgroups and a fully powered sample.