Military Spouse Coping with Mental Health (Thesis Proposal Sample)

Military Spouse Coping with Mental Health CP 6691 7 October 2021 ABSTRACT The study under investigation aims at demonstrating the impact of deployment on the mental health of military spouses. To meet the set objectives, military spouses of soldiers on deployment, those that have returned from duty, and those that await deployment shall undergo different forms of evaluation on their mental status to analyze the spouses' mental wellbeing. The findings will then be compared to a control group and demonstrate a theoretical model that shows the significance of deployment to the mental health of military spouses. The study is deemed and an important contribution to a healthy military life. Stakeholders shall have a platform to act on factors, which, if left an attended, shall affect the mental stability of military spouse and subsequently contribute to elevated stress levels of the soldiers. SECTION I Introduction to the topic Military personnel and veterans are at high risk of Mental Health challenges compared to civilians. Studies have shown high alcohol consumption rates among men in uniform (Vest et al., 2017). Additionally, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder continues to be a key contributor to Mental Health challenges for both active duty and retired officers. Another thing that worsens the situation is discrimination against military personnel that opt to seek professional counseling services. Many would rather endure the difficulties associated with PTSD than make an appointment for counseling on account of being sidelined from missions or considered weak elements of a given unit. Deployment and combat exposure are also among triggers to mental health disorders for the soldiers. In many instances, however, the impact of mental health disorders extends to the family and spouse of the victim. For example, studies have revealed that spouses experience depression associated with prevailing conditions faced by their partners. Deployment plays a bigger role in causing depression to spouses of members sent for missions (Donoho et al., 2018). Partners end up feeling lonely and worried about the condition a serving spouse expects to encounter. Additionally, spouses have to cope with the mental challenges of the returnees, which in some cases may extend to physical abuse. Some spouses may opt to engage in physical exercise to occupy their minds, while others prefer alcohol to lessen trouble. Consequently, it is prudent to address the issue of mental health among spouses of military members. Currently, the United States has approximately 690,000 spouses. Most military spouses experience negative outcomes in war-related stress, including depression, distress, posttraumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, and substance as measured by Holmes- Rahe Stress Inventory (Gribble et al., 2019; Kulak et al., 2019). The current focus on military-specific stressors such as deployment has significantly obscured the effect of stress exposure to unrelated military service, such as negative childhood experiences, on the wellbeing of military spouses. Additionally, previous research has less inadequately considered the concurrent experience of multiple stressors among the families. Regarding this, this proposal aims at demonstrating the factors contributing to mental health disorders of the military spouse as a function of deployment of partners. Importance and Significance of the Problem Military spouses experience stressors that, if not checked, may lead to drastic deterioration of their mental health. In most cases, the stressors become more pronounced when a partner is scheduled for deployment or deployed to a combat zone. Unfortunately, these stressors often go unnoticed, which significantly contribute to the long-term deterioration of the mental health of the military spouse. Therefore, it is prudent to evaluate the stressor likely to trigger mental health problems among military spouses to aid in restoring mental wellbeing swiftly. The mental wellbeing of a military spouse is as important as the desire for having active-duty officers with a stable mind. A supporting spouse must be free from mental health problems for a soldier to perform perfectly in a combat zone. However, it is considerably difficult to ensure the military spouse is in their right state of mind without evaluating the potential of developing stressors that will affect their mind. Consequently, there is a need to formulate a research-based module, which will caution against the possibility of experiencing stressors leading to mental health issues of the military spouse. The army stands to benefit from this study because prompt remedies to a partner's mental problem will result in a healthy mental state, which eventually eases the stress of an active-duty officer knowing that a spouse's mental well-being has been restored. Purpose of the research The purpose of this study is to identify a spouse of a soldier on deployment and evaluate the likelihood of encountering the various stressor that may cause mental health problems. Research Hypotheses Military spouses will manifest different levels of stress and different coping skills in managing stressful life events. Null Hypotheses Military spouses will manifest different levels of stress and different coping skills in managing stressful life events. Scope of the Study The study shall investigate military spouses of active-duty members awaiting deployment or recently returned from deployment. The level of stress and experience of traumatic events is measured using the Holmes- Rahe Stress Inventory. The main focus will be spouses with children between one and eleven years old. The findings of the study are only applicable within the state of Alabama. Procedure and method to be used Purposive sampling will be used in selecting the military spouses to be involved in the study. The study will then be organized in several steps. The first step will involve sorting the participants into respective groups. The first group, which comprises 60 participants equally distributed in three sub-groups, will be the one comprising military spouses of partners waiting for deployment. Twenty participants, comprising 5 male and 15 female, in the respective sub-groups shall be randomly selected and put in units of four members, implying five units. The four members will include one male and three female. The various groups shall also be subdivided similarly throughout the study. After clustering all members into their respective units, a basic introduction of the members creating awareness of what the study intends to achieve will be done. This will be followed by group talks, which the sound recording device shall capture. Members of the unit will be encouraged to share their past experiences relating to their feelings concerning the events that unfold, specifically concerning the partners' deployment. The group talks shall be expected to take a maximum of one hour and a total of 15 hours to conclude the same activity in each of the four main categories. The administration of questionnaires will follow the group talks. Structured questionnaires, estimated to take a maximum of five minutes, shall be given to all members. Questionnaire feeling throughout each main category will be expected to take one-and-quarter hours in total. The step following the administration of questionnaires will be conducting the interview. One member in each unit will be interviewed separately, and the findings of the individual's interview compiled with the administered questions and contributions in group talks. All the unit members will be interviewed separately for a period between five to ten minutes per individual. After collecting all the essential data, the next step will involve sorting and compiling. Similar data sets shall be put in the same category and analyzed for consistency. For example, group talk information will be compared to individual's filled questionnaires and interview information of a member in that group. Sorting will be conducted for each of the 240 participants, and if a pattern is established, the findings shall be construed as the study's outcome. Limitation of the Study The accuracy of the study significantly depends on the response levels of the military spouse. Spouses that conceal information concerning the stressor contributing to retardation of mental health will significantly impair the study's accuracy. Additionally, manipulation of information to mislead the researcher could result in skewed findings. Another issue of concern relating to the study is the availability and desire of participants to engage in the study freely. Some military spouses may not want it known that they are involved in the study and sharing their stress events. Moreover, the research schedule may conflict with respondents' availability, resulting in unwanted delays and possible utilization of unbudgeted funds. Finally, the army may prefer to conceal the identity of a military spouse that would otherwise taint the reputation of the service. Consequently, the study may fail to address issues that are key contributors to the mental health challenges of military spouses, should the limitations prevail. Therefore, these limitations could potentially influence the success of the study. SECTION II Description of the research site setting The study investigates mental health among the military, specifically military spouses coping with mental health. It is expected that military spouses experience stressors relatively higher than civilian spouses. Additionally, the mental health well-being of military spouses relates to the deployment of their partners in combat zones. Moreover, stress levels of military spouses elevate whenever a partner is called for deployment, is already on deployment, or is just returning from deployment. This research will focus on various groups and highlight the triggers likely to cause mental health challenges to milit...