| Military deployments are often a routine part of military service, and due to current military conflicts throughout the world, often a necessity. While crucial to national security, military deployments have been found to result in significant psychological and relational distress for military service members, as well as their families. Psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety often emerge for individuals within the family and tend to influence the entire family system. Although research has identified these issues, minimal research has explored preventative measures to reduce these negative effects of deployment. The present study examined the relationship of pre-deployment psychotherapeutic services upon post-deployment family functioning as reported by military spouses. Furthermore, the study explored the relationship between the modality of pre-deployment psychotherapeutic services and post-deployment family functioning. Participants were military spouses recruited through military-specific websites, print media, and participant referral. Analysis consisted of correlational analysis and multiple regression analysis, and a significant relationship was indicated between the number of pre-deployment psychotherapeutic services received and the level of post-deployment family functioning (rs=.243, N=112, p=0.010) as perceived by military spouses. Furthermore, the present study found no significant relationship between the modality of pre-deployment psychotherapeutic services and post-deployment family functioning, family communication, or family satisfaction levels. The study additionally found that higher levels of post-deployment family functioning and family communication levels were reported when psychotherapeutic services were received than when pre-deployment psychotherapeutic services were not received. These findings may provide support for the utilization of psychotherapeutic services as a resource to minimize the negative effects of military deployments for military families. |
