Mental health profiles of depressive symptoms and personal well-being among active-duty military families

Although some research has examined the mental health of individual family members in military families, additional research is needed that considers mental health among multiple members of the family system simultaneously and that characterizes subsets of families with distinct patterns. Mental health patterns of depressive symptoms and well-being in and among families were identified using latent profile analysis with a community sample of 236 military families with a service member (SM) parent, civilian partner, and adolescent. Drawing from the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response model, we examined several military-related family demands (e.g., relocations, deployments) and capabilities (e.g., family cohesion, social support outside the family) as correlates of the family profiles. Three profiles emerged: thriving families (62.3% of the sample where all three family members reported relatively low depressive symptoms and high personal well-being), families with a relatively distressed SM (24.2%), and families with a relatively distressed adolescent (13.5%). Overall, there were no differences between the groups of families regarding military-related demands, yet there were differences between the groups regarding their capabilities, namely family cohesion and social support. In general, families in the thriving profile tended to have higher family cohesion and social support as reported by multiple family members compared to the other two profiles. Findings can inform the development of family needs assessments and tailored interventions (and intervention points) based on family profiles and current capabilities.