Date
10-16-2025
Department
School of Health Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences (PhD)
Chair
Frederick Volk
Keywords
military spouses, physical activity, flourishing, well-being
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Health
Recommended Citation
Lynn, Ashley Nicole, "Military Spouses' Physical Activity and Flourishing" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7567.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7567
Abstract
Military spouses' health and well-being are critical to military robustness. However, most research up to this point has focused on what might be considered “parts” of health and well-being, rather than the complete condition, or flourishing. Military spouses have been demonstrated to be a relatively physically active group, which created a unique opportunity to explore whether physical activity, a critical public health priority, beneficially contributed to spouses’ lives or vice versa. The purpose of the research was to explore relationships between physical activity levels and flourishing, as well as flourishing and physical activity levels among U.S. active-duty military spouses, while considering military contextual factors. A total of 259 female military spouses participated in this quantitative, descriptive, correlational study. Participants completed a survey on the Qualtrics platform, which first inquired about demographics before the Flourish measure by VanderWeele (2017) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form. A series of simple linear regressions were conducted to explore the relationships between physical activity levels (X) and flourishing outcomes (Y). Ordinal logistic regressions were conducted to explore the relationship between flourishing (X) and physical activity levels (Y). Moderation analyses were conducted to explore whether duty station deployment status, military department, or military rank moderated the relationship between physical activity levels and flourishing. Results demonstrated that (1) High physical activity was associated with significantly higher total flourishing and close social relationships compared to low physical activity. High physical activity was associated with significantly higher mental and physical health compared to moderate and low physical activity. (2) Total flourishing significantly predicted higher physical activity. Mental and physical health significantly predicted higher physical activity. (3) Deployable versus non-deployable duty stations were a significant moderator of the relationship between high physical activity and happiness and life satisfaction. The military department was a significant moderator of the relationships between high physical activity and mental and physical health, and between high activity and close social relationships. Military rank was a significant moderator of the relationship between high physical activity and happiness and life satisfaction. This foundational study will contribute to tailored health promotion. Future research should explore spouses’ motivations for physical activity, considering military and physical activity contextual factors.
