Social Networking, Social Support, and Well-being for the Military Spouse

Military spouses experience unique stressors due to service member deployments and frequent relocations. Our purpose is to examine how military spouses use social networking groups, such as Facebook, and determine how this use was related to perceived social support and well-being. We found more frequent Facebook use was associated with decreased well-being compared with those who reported using Facebook less frequently. Practitioners may enhance the care provided to military spouses by inquiring about their circumstances, social media use, and helping them to identify social support services that may mitigate stress and improve well-being. (c) 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc.