The Military Spouse Resiliency Group (MSRG) Peer Support Program: Equipping Families For Resiliency With Tools

This study will adapt and test an established peer support program for military spouses that offers them significant weekly group-based support on an array of topics that affect their lives. The curriculum will be able to be used in-person through group meetings or virtually by using a web-based meeting platform. The near-term impact of this study is that scientific knowledge will be developed about how well a curriculum-based, weekly, in-person support group for military spouses is effective in improving spouses' quality of life, mental health, social support and knowledge of health conditions impacting service members.

This study will assess whether offering military spouses support for coping with their mental health and social support needs to achieve a greater quality of life, a greater sense of social support and knowledge about and access to resources to address a range of issues they may be facing throughout their spouses' military careers. By educating them about the health conditions their service members may experience and how to support their recovery and access to treatment, service members will also benefit by having more familial support for seeking treatment. Educating family members about the injuries that SMs face will help to maintain stronger family relationships and reduce family relationship stress.

This study will examine the impact of structured, evidence-based peer support group adapted to address the specific concerns of military spouses designed to increase social support, reduce depression and increase knowledge of SM health needs. Research Plan: This study will address Specific Aim 1:To adapt an existing veteran spouse peer support curriculum for active-duty spouses based on data collected from focus groups and interviews with military spouses, and Specific Aim 2: Conduct a randomized controlled trial (N = 150) to evaluate how military spouses' participation in a peer support group influences their mental health, quality of life and social support outcomes as well as improves their knowledge about psychological health problems faced by SMs and their confidence in supporting SM access to treatment. Hypothesis 1: Military spouses and significant others who participate in the Military Spouse Resiliency Group (M-SRG) program will show improved quality of life, sense of social support, self-care practices and depression symptoms.Hypothesis 2: After completing M-SRG participants will possess greater knowledge of common SM psychological health problems and greater confidence in how to support SMs' access to care.Impact: The near-term impact of this study and its products are that scientific knowledge will be developed about how well a curriculum-based, weekly, in-person support group for military spouses is effective in improving spouses' quality of life, mental health, social support and knowledge of health conditions impacting service members. The long-term impact of this study will be to offer ongoing, necessary health and social support to spouses through peer support groups. Equipping spouses with skills to address the mental health and healthcare needs of SMs will provide spouses necessary supports for their unique experiences as part of military life.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Participants must be married to or in a committed relationship with a service member stationed at Fort Hood;
* Participants must have a reasonable expectation of remaining at Fort Hood for at least 4 months.
* Participants must be willing to attend up to 10 sessions of a military spouse peer support group in person at Fort Hood.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Spouses who are separated or divorced from a service member are not eligible to participate.