Positive and negative family communication and mental distress: Married service members during a non-combat deployment

This study examines whether married service member perceptions of positive or negative communication moderate the relationship between how frequently they communicate home during a deployment and their mental distress. Participants included 382 married service members who completed surveys regarding their marital relationships, communication, and mental health while on a non-combat deployment. Though marital satisfaction was not significantly associated with service member reports of their mental distress, perceptions of negative (beta = 4.32, SE = 0.59, p < 0.001) and positive communication (beta = -1.32, SE = 0.57, p < 0.05) were. Further, significant interactions between frequency of communication and the perception of negative (beta = 0.54, SE = 0.13, p < 0.001) and positive (beta = 0.17, SE = 0.07, p < 0.01) communication suggest positive communication may be protective for service members while frequent, negative communication can exacerbate distress. Findings highlight the importance of engaging families in planning and skill building to support healthy communication across the deployment cycle.