Negative non-deployment emotions, substance use, and marital satisfaction among never-deployed military couples

Among military service members, the experience of never-deploying can create a negative affective state (i.e., "non-deployment emotions"; (NDE)) that increases stress and may contribute to higher rates of substance use among Reserve and National Guard soldiers. Little is known about how soldiers' negative NDE and substance use may affect the marital relationship of military couples. We examined the cross-spouse effects of male soldiers' negative NDE and alcohol and illicit drug use on female spouses' marital satisfaction, using cross-sectional data from never-deployed male soldiers and their female spouses (n = 94 couples; 188 participants). Negative binomial regression models tested the main effects of soldiers' negative NDE, alcohol use, and illicit drug use, separately, on their spouses' marital satisfaction, controlling for soldiers' depression, years of military service, and prior active-duty status, and spouses' depression and substance use. Interaction terms between NDE and alcohol use and illicit drug use were then added. In adjusted main effects models, only husbands' current illicit drug use was associated with wives' decreased marital satisfaction (RR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.63, 0.96; p < .05). However, significant interaction models indicated that wives had lower marital satisfaction when their husbands had high levels of negative NDE and used alcohol or drugs. This suggests a synergistic effect; negative non-deployment emotions combined with higher substance use among soldiers may contribute to lower marital satisfaction among wives. Military organizations should consider ways to better support never-deployed soldiers, develop approaches to help mitigate feelings of reduced camaraderie or belonging, and explore ways to better support military couples.