Reintegration Stress and Family Mental Health: Implications for Therapists Working with Reintegrating Military Families

Military families respond and adjust differently to reintegration stressors with some families coping well with these changes while other families do not. It is important to understand factors that contribute to reintegration stress since reintegration stress can affect their own and their family’s emotional health and well-being for months if not years into the future. This study addresses the factors that contribute to more positive outcomes and reduced reintegration stress, for reintegrating military families. Service members and partners who report the presence of PTSD related symptoms and report their own and their partner’s mental health as low, are more likely to experience more reintegration stress. The results indicate that this model is able to significantly predict variance (32 and 37 %, respectively) in reintegration stress levels. It is important for mental health providers to understand the variation in reintegrating families’ stress levels and coping skills. Employing a systemic approach uniquely positions therapists to more effectively address these issues to help military families develop healthy cohesive family systems.