Social and Psychological Support for Military Personnel and Their Families in Connection with Military Deployment: A Scoping Review and Thematic Analysis

This study explored existing literature regarding what social and psychological interventions currently exist for military couples/families in connection to international deployment. A systematic scoping studies review was performed. Peer-reviewed articles were searched in the following ProQuest databases: PsycArticles, Social Services Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts. Twenty-four articles were identified that met the inclusion criteria. A thematic analysis was then applied. Two main themes were identified by the analysis describing the types of military support interventions, including family-based interventions and couple interventions. The existing literature covering specific interventions for military personnel and their families is limited, especially literature outside of North American military populations. Most current interventions focused on reactive psychological services, primarily during deployment and after the military employee has arrived back from duty and the family already presents symptoms of concern. Further studies are needed to represent the current support methods utilized for military personnel and their families in European contexts. Moreover, additional interventions focused on preventative health care may be a useful complement to currently offered treatment programs for helping military families mentally prepare for the specific stressors relating to military deployment. The current literature can serve as a basis for the identification of future needs in intervention and preventative psychological support for military families.