Mental Health Statistics Within The Military Community

"We cannot bring back those we have lost, but we hope that we can in some way honor their memory by doing more — right now — to prevent future tragedies from suicide among our wider DOD family."
- Sarah Otto, OHF President & Co-Founder

Chronically high stress levels have been associated with higher rates of physical and psychological issues,⁴ and repeated separations and associated stress may impact spouses’ physical and mental health. Fewer than half (42%) of active-duty spouse respondents agree that their health is excellent. While two-thirds of active-duty spouse respondents (67%) report they do not have a current mental health diagnosis, 25% report a current diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which is much higher than the estimated levels of GAD in the overall population.⁵ Higher than estimated civilian levels⁶ of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (8%) are also self-reported.

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5% of active duty spouse respondents said that they considered suicide within the past year.

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Per the 2021 Blue Star Families Survey, Families still experience barriers to mental health care; despite increased use of telehealth services, active-duty family member respondents continue to report difficulty scheduling appointments, difficulty getting time off work for treatment, difficulty finding child care, and concerns about confidentiality.