Strong communities, strong families: an examination of the association of community functioning with psychological resilience, psychopathology, and family outcomes in active duty Air Force members

Abstract

Using a representative sample of married, active duty Air Force service members (N= 29,254), a theoretical model of community functioning was tested to examine the association between community functioning and three family outcomes (i.e., parent-child relationship satisfaction, family coping, and marital satisfaction). Tests of indirect relationships included measures of psychological resilience, depression, and PTSD, while rank and gender were examined as potential moderators. Results using structural equation modeling indicated that there was a direct, positive relationship between community functioning and all three family outcome variables and an indirect relationship through both psychological resilience and depression. In addition, there was a direct, negative relationship between community functioning and depression, as well as an indirect relationship through psychological resilience. Moderation was supported for rank only. These results demonstrate the importance of community functioning and resilience as they relate to service member’s mental health and family relationships. They suggest a potential framework in which community functioning and resilience may lead to reductions in individual and family risk factors.