Barbara Thompson Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families Award

The Military Family Research Institute’s Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families Award was established in 2015. The goals of the award are to:

  • bring visibility to issues of military and veteran families generally, and to outstanding new research specifically;
  • increase the impact of rigorous scientific evidence on programs, policies and practices affecting military and veteran families;
  • strengthen connections between researchers and practitioners interested in military and veteran families; and
  • raise awareness of research on military and veteran families across many disciplines.

The winning paper is selected through a rigorous process. No nominations or applications are accepted, and authors have no idea their work is being considered. Instead, a large panel of accomplished scholars examines every relevant article published during the eligible year and through multiple rounds of review that include standardized quantitative assessments, arrives at the final selection.

In 2019, MFRI named the Excellence in Research on Military and Family Veteran Award after Barbara Thompson, who has served military and veteran families for over 30 years.

MFRI thanks the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) and Military REACH for supporting this award and joining us in our mission to advance important research about and for military and veteran families.

About Barbara Thompson

Barbara Thompson assumed the duties of director for the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy in 2006 and retired in 2017. She was responsible for programs and policies that promote military families’ well-being, readiness and quality of life. In this capacity, she had oversight for Department of Defense child development and youth programs, serving 700,000 children daily at more than 300 locations worldwide. Thompson had purview over military family readiness program, including spouse career advancement, military family life cycle and transition support, community capacity building supporting geographically dispersed military members and their families, the Family Advocacy Program, and Exceptional Family Member Program. She also coordinated support programs for the severely injured and supported the rebuilding of the Ministry of Education in Iraq. Thompson continues her leadership in the military community by advising multiple national organizations including MFRI.

2024

2024 recipient

Sullivan, K. S., Park, Y., Richardson, S., Cederbaum, J., Stander, V., & Jaccard, J. (2023). Early and Recent Military and Nonmilitary Stressors Associated with Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Among Military Service Members and Their Spouses. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 36(5), 943-954. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22958

Study takeaways:

  • The rate of suspected or met-criteria child maltreatment in the first two years of a baby’s life was low in this population of military families, at less than 1% compared to 3.7% in the general population.  
  • The health of both parents and children appears related to risk for maltreatment. Among babies, premature birth was the strongest risk factor for maltreatment before age 2, increasing risk of abuse or neglect by over 130%. Among service member parents, better physical health was associated with a lower risk for maltreatment. 
  • Risk for maltreatment was lower in the Navy and the Air Force compared to the Army. These differences may be partially related to how maltreatment is investigated and addressed across branches but may also be connected to higher rates of deployment in the Army as well as demographic factors, like socioeconomic status, which vary across branches.   

Read a summary of this study provided by Military REACH.

Primary researcher biography:

Kathrine Sullivan, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Southern California’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Sullivan’s work employs quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the impact of stress, trauma and other risk exposures on family process and mental health outcomes, primarily among the families of service members, veterans and other vulnerable family systems.  

2024 finalists

Read the top takeaways from this year’s winner and finalists.

2024 Award Presentation and Panel Discussions

2023

2023 recipient

Stander, V. A., Woodall, K. A., Richardson, S. M., Thomsen, C. J., Milner, J. S., McCarroll, J. E., Riggs, D. S., & Cozza, S. J. (2021). The role of posttraumatic stress symptoms and negative affect in predicting substantiated intimate partner violence incidents among military personnel. Military Behavioral Health, 9(4), 442-462. https://doi.org/10.1080/21635781.2021.1953644

Study takeaways

  1. Post-traumatic stress disorder is often linked to increased risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). Many studies of PTSD focus on symptoms like anger/irritability, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbance, which are common among other mental health conditions. These symptoms aren’t exclusive to PTSD.
  2. Previous studies have lumped in symptoms unique to PTSD with these more frequently-occurring symptoms. In contrast, we separated these more common symptoms – anger, concentration, disturbed sleep, etc. which are grouped under “negative affect” – from symptoms that are specific to PTSD. We found that negative affect was the unique predictor of IPV, not the PTSD-specific symptoms.
  3. Women are understudied as potential perpetrators of IPV. We found that men and women were similarly prone to negative affect, indicating a similar potential for IPV. Future research should continue to evaluate gender differences in factors such as trauma exposure and stress symptoms.

Summary hosted by Military REACH

Primary researcher biography

Valerie Stander, PhD, has worked as a research psychologist at the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) for over 20 years studying the health and wellbeing of military personnel and their families. Within the NHRC Military Population Health Directorate, Stander is currently the principal investigator of the Millennium Cohort Family Study, a 21-year longitudinal program documenting the impact of military life stress on family relationships. Stander is also co-principal investigator in a research collaboration with Abt Associates evaluating the efficacy of a HealthySteps pilot for intervention initiated by the Department of Defense Office of Military Community and Family Policy. Stander focuses on risk factors for interpersonal aggression, including patterns of family violence, sexual aggression perpetration and victimization among military personnel.

View the takeaways from the award winners and finalists.

2022

2022 recipient

Stander, V. A., Woodall, K. A., Richardson, S. M., Thomsen, C. J., Milner, J. S., McCarroll, J. E., Riggs, D. S., & Cozza, S. J. (2021). The role of posttraumatic stress symptoms and negative affect in predicting substantiated intimate partner violence incidents among military personnel. Military Behavioral Health, 9(4), 442-462. https://doi.org/10.1080/21635781.2021.1953644

Study takeaways

  1. Post-traumatic stress disorder is often linked to increased risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). Many studies of PTSD focus on symptoms like anger/irritability, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbance, which are common among other mental health conditions. These symptoms aren’t exclusive to PTSD.
  2. Previous studies have lumped in symptoms unique to PTSD with these more frequently-occurring symptoms. In contrast, we separated these more common symptoms – anger, concentration, disturbed sleep, etc. which are grouped under “negative affect” – from symptoms that are specific to PTSD. We found that negative affect was the unique predictor of IPV, not the PTSD-specific symptoms.
  3. Women are understudied as potential perpetrators of IPV. We found that men and women were similarly prone to negative affect, indicating a similar potential for IPV. Future research should continue to evaluate gender differences in factors such as trauma exposure and stress symptoms.

Summary hosted by Military REACH

Primary researcher biography

Valerie Stander, PhD, has worked as a research psychologist at the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) for over 20 years studying the health and wellbeing of military personnel and their families. Within the NHRC Military Population Health Directorate, Stander is currently the principal investigator of the Millennium Cohort Family Study, a 21-year longitudinal program documenting the impact of military life stress on family relationships. Stander is also co-principal investigator in a research collaboration with Abt Associates evaluating the efficacy of a HealthySteps pilot for intervention initiated by the Department of Defense Office of Military Community and Family Policy. Stander focuses on risk factors for interpersonal aggression, including patterns of family violence, sexual aggression perpetration and victimization among military personnel.

View the takeaways from the 2022 award winners and finalists.

2021

2021 recipient

Zhang, N., Hoch, J., & Gewirtz, A. H. (2020). The physiological regulation of emotion during social interactions: Vagal flexibility moderates the effects of a military parenting intervention on father involvement in a randomized trial. Prevention Science, 21(5), 691-701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01122-6

Study takeaways

  1. The vagus nerve connects to the heart and helps regulate the muscles of the face, neck, and head. Cardiac vagal tone – a measure of heart rate variability – underlies social engagement behaviors and can be considered an index of physiological emotion regulation. Emerging research suggests that cardiac vagal tone may be related to parenting behaviors.
  2. The After Deployment Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT) program was designed to strengthen effective parenting behaviors and to prevent children’s mental health problems in military families. It teaches many aspects of effective parenting behaviors such as problem solving, monitoring, discipline, skill encouragement, positive involvement, and emotion socialization.
  3. Although on average military fathers did not show significant improvements in parenting if they were randomized into the ADAPT program (vs. service as usual), our study showed evidence that the ADAPT program was more effective in strengthening fathers’ parenting if fathers had higher levels of physiological emotion regulation capacities. This suggests that physiological emotion regulation may be a biomarker that predicts how effective the ADAPT program would be for military fathers. Such findings can provide a future opportunity to tailor the intervention to best meet fathers’ different needs.

Read a summary of this article courtesy of Military REACH.

Download our takeaways document summarizing papers by the winner and the finalists.

Researcher biographies

Na Zhang is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut. As a family scholar and prevention scientist, her program of research analyzes the intrapersonal and interpersonal pathways involved in the development of psychopathology and resilience among youth and adults who were exposed to stressful or traumatic experiences. A major focus of her research is on the development and evaluation of behavioral parent training programs that consider parents as the agents of change. Zhang has investigated how effective parenting may lead to resilience outcomes in children from at-risk families. Her current program of research focuses on mindfulness training as an intervention strategy to strengthen and optimize parenting programs.

John Hoch is a clinical psychologist and researcher at Fraser Child and Family Center in Minneapolis and at the University of Minnesota. His clinical work focuses on children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. He is interested in the analysis of mobile psychophysiological data that is applicable to real-world clinical problems. Hoch’s research seeks to garner results in deriving predictors of social determinants of health behaviors and trauma exposure from clinical data to allow for earlier identification and treatment. He hopes that clinical research will make the invisible visible and lead to better outcomes for clients.

Abigail Gewirtz is a Foundation Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. Her research focuses on development, effectiveness testing, and widespread implementation of targeted prevention programs that promote child resilience among highly stressed families, including those affected by military deployment and war. Gewirtz’s research has been funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Department of Defense. She is also the director of the Center for Resilient Families, tasked with the national implementation and dissemination of evidence- based parenting programs to families affected by traumatic stress. She is the principal investigator on three randomized controlled trials to develop and test a web-enhanced parenting program for military parents returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

2021 Finalists

  • Hajal, N. J., Aralis, H. J., Kiff, C. J., Wasserman, M. M., Paley, B., Milburn, N. G., Mogil, C., & Lester, P. (2020). Parental Wartime Deployment and Socioemotional Adjustment in Early Childhood: The Critical Role of Military Parents’ Perceived Threat During Deployment. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 33(3), 307–317. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22475
  • Lee, J. D., O’Neill, A. S., Denning, E. C., Mohr, C. D., & Hammer, L. B. (2020). A Dyadic Examination of Drinking Behaviors within Military-Connected Couples. Military Behavioral Health, 8(4), 396–409. https://doi.org/10.1080/21635781.2020.1825241
  •  O’Neill, A. S., Mohr, C. D., Bodner, T. E., & Hammer, L. B. (2020). Perceived partner responsiveness, pain, and sleep: A dyadic study of military-connected couples. Health Psychology, 39(12), 1089–1099. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001035

2020

2020 Recipient

Carter, S. P., Renshaw, K. D., Allen, E. S., Markman, H. J., & Stanley, S. M. (2019). Everything Here is Fine: Protective Buffering by Military Spouses During a Deployment. Family Process, 59(3), 1261–1274. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12457

Study Takeaways

  1. Nearly all military spouses (96%) reported that while their partner was deployed, they engaged in at least some protective buffering, which is intentionally withholding information or concerns from a romantic partner in an attempt to protect them from distress.
  2. Previous studies found that military spouses largely engage in protective buffering to prevent service members from becoming distracted while deployed. However, this study found no relationship between protective buffering and family-related distraction among deployed service members.
  3. Higher protective buffering by military spouses during a deployment was associated with higher psychological distress and lower marital satisfaction for both deployed service members and military spouses.
  4. Protective buffering by military spouses during a deployment did not predict psychological distress or marital satisfaction after deployment.

2020 Finalists

  • Eliezer, D., Hilbert, A. J., Davis, L. H., Hylton, K., Klauberg, W. X., Hurley, M. M., Gitlin, Z. J., Dyches, K. D., & Galbreath, N. W. (2019). Sexual Assault Experiences Vary for Active Duty Military Women Depending on their Relationship to the Perpetrator. Journal of Family Violence, 35(4), 325–338. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-019-00085-9
  • Knobloch, L. K., Knobloch-Fedders, L. M., & Yorgason, J. B. (2018). Mental health symptoms and the reintegration difficulty of military couples following deployment: A longitudinal application of the relational turbulence model. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 75(4), 742–765. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22734
  • Meis, L. A., Noorbaloochi, S., Hagel Campbell, E. M., Erbes, C. R., Polusny, M. A., Velasquez, T. L., Bangerter, A., Cutting, A., Eftekhari, A., Rosen, C. S., Tuerk, P. W., Burmeister, L. B., & Spoont, M. R. (2019). Sticking it out in trauma-focused treatment for PTSD: It takes a village. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(3), 246–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000386
  • Zhang, N., Piehler, T. F., Gewirtz, A. H., Zamir, O., & Snyder, J. J. (2019). Trait Mindfulness and Anger in the Family: A Dyadic Analysis of Male Service Members and their Female Partners. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 46(1), 15–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12384

View the takeaways from the 2020 winner and finalists (PDF).

2020 Presentation and Finalist Panel

View the recording of the 2020 award presentation and Family Dynamics and Military Service panel with award finalists.

2019

2019 recipient

Allen, E., Knopp, K., Rhoades, G., Stanley, S., & Markman, H. (2018). Between- and within-subject associations of PTSD symptom clusters and marital functioning in military couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(1), 134-144. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000363

Study takeaways

  1. In a sample of 570 male Army service members and their wives, the current study analyzed how different post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters (numbing, hyperarousal, effortful avoidance, and re-experiencing) related to three aspects of couple functioning (marital satisfaction, positive bonding, and conflict behavior) over a two year period.
  2. Higher overall levels of PTSD symptoms in all clusters were related to poorer average couple functioning, but the strongest effects were seen in the numbing cluster for husbands and the avoidance cluster for wives. Over time, changes in numbing predicted worse couple functioning for both spouses. Thus, numbing showed the most consistent associations with couple functioning in our study.
  3. Although all PTSD symptom clusters were linked with couple functioning, couples may experience numbing symptoms as the largest PTSD-related stressor for their marriage. Clinicians could look for numbing symptoms to identify couples who are at risk, and could also target numbing symptoms through PTSD treatments in order to improve service members’ relationships.

View the full paper courtesy of the Journal of Family Psychology until January 3, 2020.

2019 finalists

  • Gewirtz, A. H., DeGarmo, D. S., & Zamir, O. (2017). After deployment, adaptive parenting tools: 1-Year outcomes of an evidence-based parenting program for military families following deployment. Prevention Science, 19(4), 589-599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-017-0839-4
    • View the paper courtesy of Prevention Science and Springer Publishing until January 27, 2020.
  • Julian, M. M., Muzik, M., Kees, M., Valenstein, M., Dexter, C., & Rosenblum, K. L. (2018). Intervention effects on reflectivity explain change in positive parenting in military families with young children. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(6), 804–815. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000431
    • View the paper courtesy of the Journal of Family Psychology until January 3, 2020.
  • Kritikos, T. K., Comer, J. S., He, M., Curren, L. C., & Tompson, M. C. (2019). Combat experience and posttraumatic stress symptoms among military-serving parents: A meta-analytic examination of associated offspring and family outcomes. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47(1), 131-148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0427-5
    • View the paper courtesy of the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology and Springer Publishing until January 27, 2020.
  • O’Neal, C. W., Lucier-Greer, M., Duncan, J. M., Mallette, J. K. , Arnold, A. L., Mancini, J. A. (2018). Vulnerability and resilience within military families: Deployment experiences, reintegration, and family functioning. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(10), 3250-3261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1149-6
    • View the paper courtesy of the Journal and Child and Family Studies and Springer Publishing until January 27, 2020.

View the key takeaways from the winner and finalists.

2018

2018 recipient

2018 Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families Award winner

Arnold, A. L., Lucier-Greer, M., Mancini, J. A., Ford, J. L., & Wickrama, K. A. S. (2016). How Family Structures and Processes Interrelate. Journal of Family Issues, 38(6), 858–879. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513×15616849

The transitional nature of military life positions the family to serve as the primary and most stable influence for adolescents in military families. These military-related transitions and stressors may also put youth at risk for depression and academic challenges. This study examines the relative impact of family structure (family composition at a given time point) and family processes (interpersonal interactions developed over time) on important adolescent outcomes (depressive symptoms and academic performance) for a sample of military youth (N = 995). While family structure, particularly being part of a stepfamily or single-parent family, was related to greater depressive symptoms and poorer academic performance, family processes (family support and parent–adolescent connection) and personal resources (initiative) also accounted for depressive symptomology and academic performance. Importantly, when modeling family processes, no differences were found across family structures. Military youth thrive in diverse family forms in the presence of healthy family processes.

2018 finalists

  • Karney, B. R., & Trail, T. E. (2016). Associations Between Prior Deployments and Marital Satisfaction Among Army Couples. Journal of Marriage and Family, 79(1), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12329
  • Trail, T. E., Meadows, S. O., Miles, J. N., & Karney, B. R. (2015). Patterns of Vulnerabilities and Resources in U.S. Military Families. Journal of Family Issues, 38(15), 2128–2149. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513×15592660
  • Vogt, D., Smith, B. N., Fox, A. B., Amoroso, T., Taverna, E., & Schnurr, P. P. (2016). Consequences of PTSD for the work and family quality of life of female and male U.S. Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(3), 341–352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1321-5

View the 2018 and 2017 recipients and finalists’ award takeaways.

An archived video of the Building Your Battle Plan for Military and Veteran Families panel discussion and the 2018 and 2017 award presentation is available on YouTube. The panel discussion starts at 20:00. The awards presentation starts at 1:39:47.

2017

2017 recipient

2017 Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families Award winners

Kahn, J. R., Collinge, W., & Soltysik, R. (2016). Post-9/11 Veterans and Their Partners Improve Mental Health Outcomes with a Self-directed Mobile and Web-based Wellness Training Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(9), e255. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5800

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of use of a web-based, self-directed program of instruction in mind- and body-based wellness skills to be employed by Global War on Terror veterans and their significant relationship partners on mental health and wellness outcomes associated with postdeployment readjustment.

2017 finalists

  • Cozza, S. J., Fisher, J. E., Mauro, C., Zhou, J., Ortiz, C. D., Skritskaya, N., Wall, M. M., Fullerton, C. S., Ursano, R. J., & Shear, M. K. (2016). Performance of DSM-5 Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder Criteria in a Community Sample of Bereaved Military Family Members. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(9), 919–929. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15111442
  • Saltzman, W. R., Lester, P., Milburn, N., Woodward, K., & Stein, J. (2016). Pathways of Risk and Resilience: Impact of a Family Resilience Program on Active-Duty Military Parents. Family Process, 55(4), 633–646. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12238
  • Taylor, C. M., Ross, M. E., Wood, J. N., Griffis, H. M., Harb, G. C., Mi, L., Song, L., Strane, D., Lynch, K. G., & Rubin, D. M. (2016). Differential Child Maltreatment Risk Across Deployment Periods of US Army Soldiers. American Journal of Public Health, 106(1), 153–158. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2015.302874

View the 2018 and 2017 recipients and finalists’ award takeaways.

An archived video of the Building Your Battle Plan for Military and Veteran Families panel discussion and the 2018 and 2017 award presentation is available on YouTube. The panel discussion starts at 20:00. The awards presentation starts at 1:39:47.

2016

2016 recipient

Larsen, M. F., McCarthy, T. J., Moulton, J. G., Page, M. E., & Patel, A. J. (2015). War and marriage: Assortative mating and the World War II GI bill. Demography, 52(5), 1431-1461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-015-0426-x

World War II and its subsequent GI Bill have been widely credited with playing a transformative role in American society, but there have been few quantitative analyses of these historical events’ broad social effects. We exploit between-cohort variation in the probability of military service to investigate how WWII and the GI Bill altered the structure of marriage, and find that it had important spillover effects beyond its direct effect on men’s educational attainment. Our results suggest that the additional education received by returning veterans caused them to “sort” into wives with significantly higher levels of education. This suggests an important mechanism by which socioeconomic status may be passed on to the next generation.

2016 finalists

  • Tsai, J., Rosenheck, R. A., Kasprow, W. J., & Kane, V. (2015). Characteristics and use of services among literally homeless and unstably housed U.S. veterans with custody of minor children. Psychiatric Services, 66(10), 1083-1090. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201400300
  • Fischer, E. P., Sherman, M. D., McSweeney, J. C., Pyne, J. M., Owen, R. R., & Dixon, L. B. (2015). Perspectives of family and veterans on family programs to support reintegration of returning veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological Services, 12(3), 187-198. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000033

If you would like to revisit the 2016 evening’s discussion, please view the archived version of this event.

2015

2015 recipient

Lundquist, J., & Xu, Z. (2014). Reinstitutionalizing families: Life course policy and marriage in the military. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(5), 1063-1081. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12131

Jennifer Lundquist, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Zhun Xu, Howard University, argue that structural conditions of modern military service – including deployment, frequent moves and overarching characteristics of military employment – shape the relationships between spouses and service members. Through the article, the authors bring together life course literatures on turning points, the welfare state, and linked lives to show how military policies are part of an overarching institutional culture that directly and indirectly promotes marriage.

2015 finalists

  • Gewirtz, A. H., McMorris, B. J., Hanson, S., & Davis, L. (2014). Family adjustment of deployed and nondeployed mothers in families with a parent deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 45(6), 465-477. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036235
  • Renshaw, K. D., Campbell, S. B., Meis, L., & Erbes, C. (2014). Gender differences in the associations of PTSD symptom clusters with relationship distress in U.S. Vietnam veterans and their partners. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 27(3), 283-290. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21916
  • Foran, H. M., Heyman, R. E., & Smith Slep, A. M. (2014). Emotional abuse and its unique ecological correlates among military personnel and spouses. Psychology of Violence, 4(2), 128-142. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034536
  • Theiss, J. A., & Knobloch, L. K. (2011). Relational turbulence and the post-deployment transition. Communication Research, 41(1), 27-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650211429285