Availability, predictors, and outcomes of actual support for military spouses during deployment and reunion: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Family Study.

Military spouses with unmet needs for support are particularly vulnerable to stress during cycles of deployment and reintegration. To complement the literature on perceived support, we investigated actual support as the assistance people actually use to manage stressors. Our study sought to identify who uses actual support, what barriers to actual support exist, and what effects actual support has during reintegration. We examined data from 1,325 military spouses participating in the Millennium Cohort Family Study who had experienced deployment and reunion within the past 6 months. Weighted analyses revealed low levels of both formal and informal support during deployment. Only 16.5% of military spouses reported participating in a formal reintegration program; the biggest barriers were a lack of awareness (45.4%) and having no such program available (40.5%). More support from formal sources during deployment was reported by spouses who were non-Hispanic Black, spouses of officers, and spouses with less household income. More support from informal sources during deployment was reported by spouses who were employed and spouses of officers. Spouses were more likely to participate in a reintegration program if they were employed outside the home, if they were non-Hispanic, if they were affiliated with the Army compared with the Air Force, and if the service member experienced combat during deployment. Informal support during deployment was the strongest predictor of military spouses' well-being during reintegration. These findings suggest helping military spouses by facilitating more comprehensive support, enriching existing services, and combating disparities.