The stress experience of the wives of service personnel

Abstract

There is a paucity of research exploring the mental health of military spouses and partners. This article seeks to answer the question: what is the stress experience of the wives of British Army personnel serving in Germany? Methods included a critical literature review and reflections from the author's own practice as a community psychiatric nurse working with this community. It was found that military spouses are presented with a number of situations and stressors associated with, and unique to, their husbands' job. Increased stress among military families on a day-to-day basis is a potential trigger for the development of mental health problems. While the association between stress and mental disorders is well-documented, it is not well studied in British military families. Key issues identified include: communication, visible and invisible wounds, fatalities and homecoming. It can be concluded that current, limited research tends to focus on the stress and coping of spouses and partners during operations but not on the day-to-day stresses faced. Further research is needed into the impact of isolation, deployment, mobility and military culture on partners, and indeed, wider families.