Those who assist veterans while they move from military service back into civilian life could experience a greater chance of psychological strain. Most earlier research has focused on paid family caregivers, with little attention to spouses or informal non-family “care partners.” This study aimed to uncover the main difficulties experienced by care partners of veterans living with invisible injuries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 people who were helping a recently discharged US military Veteran taking part in a 2-year longitudinal study. These care partners (CPs) filled out established scales measuring perceived stress, caregiving burden, relationship quality, life satisfaction, and flourishing. Independent t-tests served to compare the groups on caregiving burden, relationship quality, life satisfaction, and flourishing. Care partners were divided into those reporting high and low levels of stress. Representative cases were selected to illustrate clear differences in how CPs with varying levels of stress experienced their situations over time.
Care partners described notable changes in how they viewed themselves after taking on the role of supporting a Veteran. They particularly highlighted their efforts in guiding veterans through healthcare systems and in helping them decide when and how to share health and personal details in civilian environments. Examples featuring high-burden and low-burden cases revealed sharply different paths in self-perception, in dealing with multiple sources of strain, and in managing stress over time. Individual case studies demonstrated how multifaceted strain changed over the study period. They were often worsened by extra pressures such as childcare duties, financial obligations, or limited knowledge about mental health matters. The results point to the specific support requirements of people helping military veterans with invisible injuries. They also highlight the differences and the evolving nature of caregiving responsibilities. Notably, this group was younger than typical caregiver populations, suggesting important considerations for how best to assist unpaid care partners during the initial and middle phases of veterans’ use of VA and civilian healthcare services.
