Reservists’ Partners Report the Highest Levels of Mental Distress, New Study Finds

A moving Women’s Day surprise for the wives of reservists whose homes were damaged by a missile in Beersheba / Credit: Otsma LaChayal

A new study indicates significant mental and functional distress among the spouses of reserve soldiers, with broad harm to daily routines, work performance and the ability to cope day to day. The researchers warn that without an appropriate systemic response, long-term consequences could develop for this population.

The study, conducted by Dr. Shirley Bar Lev of Ruppin Academic Center in collaboration with Galit Yitzhaki Dreizen of the Well AI association, examined hundreds of participants from reservists’ families over the past year. The findings show that it is דווקא the spouses who experience the highest levels of distress among the groups examined.

According to the data, participants reported ongoing emotional strain, anxiety and psychological exhaustion, alongside a real impairment in daily functioning at home and in the workplace. Among other things, they reported reduced concentration, difficulty managing time and increased burden in running the household and raising children.

It was also found that many respondents’ sense of personal security had been affected, with some reporting heightened sensitivity to noise and stressful situations. About 30 percent of respondents said they had sought individual mental health treatment, a rate higher than in other population groups.

Reduced concentration, difficulty managing time and increased burden in running the household and raising children / Credit: Otsma LaChayal

Dr. Bar Lev explained that one of the central phenomena is "ambiguous loss," a situation in which the spouse is absent for long periods but not completely gone: "This is ongoing emotional exhaustion, in which the partner on the home front is required to hold both the home and the work, alongside constant worry."

Yitzhaki Dreizen also addressed the findings and described part of the experience as "disenfranchised grief," which, לדבריה, receives almost no social recognition: "There is daily pain of instability and marital loneliness, which sometimes continues even after the fighter returns home."

The study found that employer support has a direct impact on the mental state of spouses, with a lack of flexibility and support in the workplace worsening feelings of exhaustion and distress.

The researchers conclude that this is a population bearing a significant burden of the war on the home front, and call for the establishment of a dedicated support system from the state, employers and the healthcare system, in order to prevent long-term deterioration in their mental and functional condition.