Military Spouses' Physical Activity and Flourishing

Military spouses' health and well-being are pivotal to a healthy and strong United States military force; therefore, elucidating factors that contribute to spouses' health and well-being is important. Prior research has suggested that military spouses may engage in adequate physical activity for physical health; however, it is unknown how spouses' physical activity may benefit their lives in other ways, especially in light of the military context. Flourishing is a condition in which all parts of life are going well, indicating a more overall assessment of health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between self-reported physical activity levels and flourishing for female military spouses while considering military contextual factors.

This quantitative, descriptive, correlational study included 259 female active-duty spouses who completed demographics, the Flourish measure, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (categorizing weekly physical activity levels as low, moderate, or high based on frequency/intensity/duration). Before all procedures, approval was obtained through the affiliated Institutional Review Board. Linear regressions were performed to explore relationships between physical activity levels and total flourishing and each flourishing domain. Moderation analyses were performed to explore the moderating roles of duty station deployment status, military department, and rank.

Forty-seven percent of female spouses self-reported high-level physical activity (reflecting both intensity and volume of activity reported in the past week). High-level activity was significantly associated with higher total flourishing compared to low-level activity (B = 0.47, P = .015). High-level activity was significantly associated with higher mental and physical health compared to low (B = 0.87, P < .001) and moderate-level (d = 0.33, P = .035) activity. Moderation analyses indicate the effect of activity level on the domain of happiness and life satisfaction was weaker for spouses in duty stations involving deployment (b = -0.87, P = .047). In addition, the effect of physical activity on the physical and mental health domain was stronger for Department of the Navy spouses in comparison to the Department of the Army (b = 0.96, P = .039), although the overall interaction between physical activity level and military department was insignificant. Finally, the relationship between physical activity and the happiness and life satisfaction domain was stronger for officer spouses compared to enlisted spouses (b = 1.22, P =.011). However, the effect of physical activity on total flourishing was not moderated by deployment, department, or rank.

This foundational study explored physical activity levels and flourishing in female military spouses, while considering military life. There appeared to be a connection between physical activity level and flourishing, particularly through mental and physical health. The role of military contextual factors in the relationship between physical activity level and flourishing in this study underscores the need for further research considering military context to refine health promotion programming and resources. Future research should explore military spouses' motivations for and context of physical activity to better understand and support flourishing.