Abstract
Partners of Australian combat veterans are at an increased risk of experiencing mental health problems. The present study provides a comparative analysis of the mental health of partners of veterans with that of the Australian normative data. To compare different types of groups of partners, the study samples comprised: (a) partners of Australian combat veterans (Sample 1: n = 282, age M = 60.79, SD = 5.05), (b) a sub-sample of partners of Australian combat veterans from the previous sample (Sample 2: n = 50; M = 60.06, SD = 4.80), (c) partners of Special Air Services Regiment (SASR) personnel (Sample 3: n = 40, age M = 34.39SD = 7.01), and (d) partners of current serving military (non-SASR) personnel (Sample 4: n = 38, age M = 32.37, SD = 6.20). Respondents completed measures assessing their reported levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Samples 1 and 2 comprised partners of Australian military veterans who reported significantly greater symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress than the comparative population norms. The sample of SASR personnel partners (Sample 3) reported significantly lower levels of depression and anxiety, whereas the sample with non-SASR personnel partners (Sample 4) reported a significantly greater stress symptomatology than the comparative norms. Number of deployments was found to be associated with depression, anxiety, and stress in partners of non-SASR veterans (Sample 4). Lessons and protective factors can be learnt from groups within the current military as to what may assist partners and families to maintain a better level of psychosocial health.
Highlights
Partners of military and combat veterans1 are at a risk of experiencing higher levels of mental health distress symptomatology (Alessi et al, 2001)
Evidence suggests that partners of veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) showed higher levels of emotional distress than those in the non-military population (Dekel et al, 2005a), and that partners of veterans with PTSD experienced higher levels of caregiver burden and lower levels of psychological adjustment than those partners whose veteran did not have PTSD (Calhoun, Beckham & Bosworth, 2002)
No research to date has compared the partners of different services personnel; the present paper examined the mental health of partners of veterans from three different military services and compared them with the Australian population norms
Summary
Partners of military and combat veterans are at a risk of experiencing higher levels of mental health distress symptomatology (Alessi et al, 2001). Progress has been made in research of partners of veterans regarding their psychosocial outcomes and the major issues they face (e.g., Beckham, Lytle & Feldman, 1996; Calhoun, Beckham & Bosworth, 2002; MacDonell et al, 2014; Outram et al, 2009; Renshaw & Campbell, 2011; Renshaw & Caska, How to cite this article MacDonell et al (2016), Depression, anxiety, and stress in partners of Australian combat veterans and military personnel: a comparison with Australian population norms. No research to date has compared the partners of different services (e.g., regiments) personnel; the present paper examined the mental health of partners of veterans from three different military services and compared them with the Australian population norms
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