• Morten Nordmo, Sigurd William Hystad, Sverre Sanden, and Bjørn Helge Johnsen.
• Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Norway.
• Mil Med. 2020 Jun 8; 185 (5-6): e703-e710.

IntroductionMinor mental health problems among service members deployed in combat areas are relatively common, but social support is a protective factor. With the advent of digital communication, as well as more frequent family separations, a stable family support system may be more important than before. In this exploratory study, we aimed to test the relationship between perceived family support and the development of minor psychiatric symptoms during a 4-month naval counter piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.Materials And MethodsWe measured minor mental health problems with the general health questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) and family support at three intervals, 3 weeks before deployment, 2 months into the mission, and at the end of deployment. We used mixed multilevel regression analysis to analyze the main effects of family support and time, as well as their interaction. All analyses were controlled for military rank.ResultsWe found that minor psychiatric symptoms increased at both midway (B = 0.51, P < 0.05) and toward the end of the mission (B = 0.72, P < 0.01). The results also showed that receiving more family support is associated with fewer psychiatric symptoms (B = -0.87, P < 0.01). Family support also moderated the development of symptoms toward the end of the mission (B = -0.73, P < 0.01). The buffering effect was such that service members with a high degree of family support experienced no increase in minor psychiatric symptoms during the deployment.ConclusionsThe results indicate that naval deployment is associated with a small increase in minor mental health problems and that having a high degree of family support buffers this effect. Efforts to increase support among military families may positively influence the wellbeing of naval sailors during combat missions.© Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2019. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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