Military families are vulnerable to many difficulties, including not just physical and mental health issues, but also financial, social, and... Show moreMilitary families are vulnerable to many difficulties, including not just physical and mental health issues, but also financial, social, and occupational hardships. As such, they may experience disempowerment, or feelings of inadequacy to handle the myriad problems which they must confront. To create greater access to resources and provide necessary supports for this population, it is important that they feel empowered to advocate on their own behalves. Increased empowerment may also help military families to benefit more from programs and services already in place. Additionally, research indicates that empowerment is its own reward; those who feel empowered tend to have better mental and physical health outcomes and are more capable of solving their own problems (as opposed to relying on helping professionals). While empowerment has been studied in the rehabilitation psychology literature in other populations, it has yet to be studied in military families. The current study is an analysis of the factor structure of the Empowerment Scale in a sample of veterans and their family members participating in a peer-to-peer guided services program. Identifying the factor structure of the Empowerment Scale in this sample will aid future researchers in using the scale to study empowerment as both a process and an outcome in psychological studies looking at military families. Though previous studies have established a five factor model of empowerment, the current study suggests a four factor model with the following four factors identified: 1) self-esteem and self-efficacy, 2) autonomy, 3) community activism, and 4) anger and authority. Implications of the four factor model in the understanding of empowerment among military families are explored. M.S. in Psychology, May 2018 Show less
