Behavioral & Community Health Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2802
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Item Exploring Predictors of Military Spouses’ Comfort Seeking Military-Provided Counseling Services(2017) Brown, Christye Yvonne; Beck, Kenneth; Zanjani, Faika; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Over 1.2 million (approximately half) of the service members deployed in support of the Global War on Terror were married at the time of their last deployment (Department of Defense, 2013). Data from the study of military and veteran families suggests that both stress and the process of coping with or overcoming exposure to adversity or stress resonate across the family system (Meredith L. S., et al., 2011), and that the impact of war and its consequences are experienced by partners and families in addition to service members (Lester, Blair, Saltzman, & Klosinski, 2013). The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of spouses' comfort in seeking military-provided counseling services when service members are deployed, by examining spousal coping behaviors, mental health status, and social support and demographics (rank and gender), as reported from the 2012 Active Duty Spouses Survey (ADSS). Analyzing survey data from 10,574 participants, we determined that 82.5% of the participants had spouses who were deployed for more than 30 consecutive days, and 64.3% of the participants felt comfortable using military-provided services for counseling. Statistically significant predictors of comfort-seeking, military-provided counseling services included positive coping behaviors, mental health status, social support, and the rank of the spouse’s partner. Spouses of officers were less likely to feel comfortable using military-provided services for counseling compared to spouses of enlisted service members. The level of psychological stress experienced by the spouses correlated with all predictors of comfort seeking, military-provided services for counseling. The results were consistent with previous studies on the predictors and outcomes of psychological stress among military spouses, and supported the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. The results have practical significance because they will help planners tailor programs to optimize the uptake of counseling services for military spouses who are in need. We recommend that future research incorporate measures of the service members’ extended deployments in combat zones to determine if extended combat-related deployment predicts spouses’ comfort seeking military-provided services for counseling. Qualitative research may also be useful to provide more insight into why some military spouses feel comfortable using military-provided services for counseling while others do not.Item Self-Efficacy and Stigma in Seeking Mental Health Services in the U.S. Army(2012) Koeppl, Patrick Thomas; Gold, Robert S.; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Among the highest personal costs, and perhaps the most pervasive and potentially disabling consequences of engaging the U.S. military in combat operations, is the threat to the psychological health of the servicemen and women and the associated impacts on their families. Negative stigma associated with seeking mental health services undermines servicemen and women's access to such services and to seeking the care they require, either for themselves or their families. While negative stigma is well documented in servicemen and women and their families, little has been done to understand the role self-efficacy plays in relation to servicemen and women seeking such services. This study assessed and evaluated aspects of stigma associated with seeking mental health services among members of the U.S. Army, and explored the role self-efficacy plays in predicting the seeking of those services. It also sought to explore and understand the factors which predict servicemen and women's willingness to seek mental health services for themselves and their children in an environment where stigmatization of those who seek such services is high. This study included an analysis of data from a 53-item email survey administered to active-duty Army servicemen and women in 2007. Stigma was found to be the primary barrier to servicemen and women's willingness to seek care for themselves or for a child, and self-efficacy was found to moderate the relationship between stigma and willingness to seek mental health services. The results of this study will provide information pertinent to developing strategies and interventions for the U.S. Army to assist their servicemen and women (and their families) in overcoming negative stigma associated with seeking mental health services and for improving the access to and use of mental health services offered by the Army.