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Family Readiness Groups: Helping deployed Army National Guard soldiers and their families
Author(s) -
Griffith James
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.22294
Subject(s) - helpfulness , psychology , national guard , coping (psychology) , guard (computer science) , military personnel , clinical psychology , social psychology , political science , public administration , computer science , programming language , law
Many have espoused the benefits of Family Readiness Groups (FRGs) for families of deployed soldiers. These include fostering family well‐being (main effect) and buffering the family against the negative effects of stressful life events (moderating effect). Yet, few published studies have tested these hypothesized relationships. Survey responses gathered from returning deployed Army National Guard soldiers ( N = 4,568 soldiers in 50 company‐sized units) gave the opportunity to test hypothesized benefits of FRGs, both main and buffering effects. Half the sample of soldiers reported their families as having used FRGs. Two‐thirds of the soldiers reported FRGs as being helpful to their families. On the whole, results supported hypotheses: More effective coping among family members was associated with FRG use (main effect), and FRGs appeared most beneficial to spouses who experienced more stressful events (buffering effect). FRG use and its associations with helpfulness to family and with family coping suggest FRGs are important resources for families of deployed soldiers, in particular, for families of reservists. Future directions for research and practice are proposed.