Abstract
BackgroundDivorce has been linked with poor physical and mental health outcomes among civilians. Given the unique stressors experienced by U.S. service members, including lengthy and/or multiple deployments, this study aimed to examine the associations of recent divorce on health and military outcomes among a cohort of U.S. service members.MethodsMillennium Cohort participants from the first enrollment panel, married at baseline (2001–2003), and married or divorced at follow-up (2004–2006), (N = 29,314). Those divorced were compared to those who remained married for mental, behavioral, physical health, and military outcomes using logistic regression models.ResultsCompared to those who remained married, recently divorced participants were significantly more likely to screen positive for new-onset posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, smoking initiation, binge drinking, alcohol-related problems, and experience moderate weight gain. However, they were also more likely be in the highest 15th percentile of physical functioning, and be able to deploy within the subsequent 3-year period after divorce.ConclusionsRecent divorce among military members was associated with adverse mental health outcomes and risky behaviors, but was also associated with higher odds of subsequent deployment. Attention should be given to those recently divorced regarding mental health and substance abuse treatment and prevention strategies.
Highlights
Divorce has been linked with poor physical and mental health outcomes among civilians
The associations between divorce and mental and physical health disorders have been investigated in civilian populations [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9], demonstrating that divorce is related to lower health-related quality of life [2], and greater disability and mortality [3, 4]
Recent research has shown that divorce is a risk factor for depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and elevated resting blood pressure, and is associated with other disorders such as seasonal affective disorder, social phobias, and bipolar disorder [5,6,7, 9]
Summary
Divorce has been linked with poor physical and mental health outcomes among civilians. Since the initiation of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan after September 11th, the increased pace of military deployments has been shown to provide a protective effect against divorce [10] while at the same time, increasing the stress of military life and impacting the quality of marital relationships [11,12,13]. These differing results indicate that the relationship between deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan and divorce is not clear and additional studies are warranted [10, 14, 15].
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