Associations of active-duty mental health trajectories with post-military adjustment: Results from the STARRS Longitudinal Study

•We investigated whether changes in mental health over a deployment period predicted adjustment after leaving the Army.•Larger increases in posttraumatic stress, anger, and depression over the deployment predicted higher civilian life stress.•Larger increases in anger and depression over the deployment period predicted lower civilian job satisfaction.•Some of these associations remained significant when controlling for average symptom levels during the deployment period.•Results may have implications for identifying soldiers who need extra support during the military-to-civilian transition.