Secondary Traumatic Stress in Military Spouses: A Systematic Review Open Access

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and deployments have a significant impact upon military families, however, a limited amount of research has been conducted on the relationship and origins between secondary traumatic stress and military spouses (STS). This systematic review explores the connections and origins of STS in a prognosis manner to provide health professionals and researchers with evidence-based research. Between June and October 2015, the researcher conducted a systematic search through PubMed, PyschINFO, Web of Science and Cochrane. Forty-five articles were included in the final analysis, and yielded two themes that affect the manifestation and prevalence of secondary traumatic stress--psychosocial and marriage satisfaction. The models found in this review illustrate a positive correlation between STS and military spouses from 1990 to 2015. Although the origins did not have a positive linear trend towards a single determining factor, the evidence suggests that lowered marital satisfaction and psychosocial health play a significant role in the manifestation of STS. The overlap of these branches interplay with the perception of military spouses in a manner that calls for further research and declaration of how mental health professional define STS specifically in the military arena. The researcher made final recommendations on methods to lower the prevalence and ultimately decrease the cost of spending on mental health in the United States military.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments...................................3

Table of Tables and Figures.....................5

Introduction..........................................6

History of Mental Health in the Military.....7

Military Spouses and STS........................9

Goals and Aims.....................................11

Results.................................................13

Psychosocial..........................................15

Marriage Satisfaction.............................17

Perception.............................................18

Gender & Age........................................19

Health Care...........................................19

Risk of Bias............................................20

Discussion.............................................21

Recommendations..................................22

Limitations............................................24

Conclusion.............................................25

References..............................................27

About this Master's Thesis

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Hubert Department of Global Health
Degree	MPH
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, General Health Sciences, Public Health Health Sciences, Mental Health
Keyword	secondary traumatic stress PTSD mental health military spouses
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Evans, Dabney, Emory University

Last modified

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	Secondary Traumatic Stress in Military Spouses: A Systematic Review ()	2018-08-28 11:01:57 -0400	Press to Select an action Download

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions