Publication year
2016
Citation Title
Decision-making during the deployment cycle
Journal Name
The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families
Journal Volume
24
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
216-221
DOI
10.1177/106648-71668686
Summary
During deployment, it can often be harder for military couples to communicate and make decisions together. This study examined how couples make decisions during deployment compared to when Service members are home, as well as the role of communication in decision-making. Findings suggest that spouses take responsibility for making many more decisions while Service members are deployed, and communication ability may affect changes to decision-making roles.
Key Findings
Overall, spouses took much greater responsibility for household, child-rearing, and financial decision-making during deployment than while their Service member was home.
The percentage of couples keeping the same responsibility for decisions during deployment depended upon the type of decision, with major household (66%) or financial (55%) decisions more commonly kept the same than child-rearing (38%) or minor household (28%) decisions.
Changes in decision-making may have been partly due to communication ability, with 70% of spouses reporting difficulties and 80% reporting stress communicating during deployment.
Implications for Program Leaders
Educate Service members and their spouses about different decision-making methods and possible changes between deployment and when the Service member is home
Offer pre-deployment workshops for Service members and their spouses to discuss plans and expectations regarding decision-making responsibilities during deployment
Offer post-deployment support groups for Service members and their spouses who are having difficulty renegotiating their roles in household decision-making
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support programs that help Service members and spouses communicate during deployment
Recommend professional education, including information on decision-making processes and communication throughout the deployment cycle, for providers working with military families
Encourage military research organizations to study the effects of changes in decision-making about child-rearing on military children throughout deployment
Methods
Participants were military spouses who were part of a large, national clinical trial on deployment support and were recruited through several military research and intervention programs.
Military spouses self-reported information regarding decision-making, communication, and deployment in phone interviews.
Usage of different communication modes and decision-making methods were calculated, and decision-making when Service members were home or deployed was compared.
Participants
The sample included 161 deployed Service members’ spouses, 97% female with an average age of 35.6 years (SD = 8.2), who had an average of 8.6 years of marriage and 1.6 children.
Spouses identified as primarily White (80%) or Black (8%), with 16% reporting Latino ethnicity.
Service members from the Army (45%), Navy (37%), Air Force (9%), and Marines (9%) were represented and had served an average of 12.6 (SD = 7.5) years in the military.
Limitations
Spouses reported retrospectively on couples’ decision-making methods when the Service member was home, which may have biased their reports or reduced accuracy.
The cross-sectional data do not allow causal conclusions to be drawn about the associations between deployment, communication, and decision-making.
Interview questions used to assess decision-making were adapted from another survey about household decisions, but the new measure had not been assessed for reliability or validity.
Avenues for Future Research
Compare perceptions of decision-making during deployment between military spouses and Service members
Examine the changes in decision-making methods among military families across time, including post-deployment, to understand how decision-making responsibility is changed or redistributed
Investigate the impact of decision-making responsibility and potentially related stress on deployed Service members’ job performance and emotional well-being
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
Decision-making at home and during deployment was examined for 161 spouses of service members (SMs) who were deployed overseas, using baseline spouse reports. Four types of decisions were included: minor household, major household, financial, and decisions about children. Communication methods used during deployment were also examined. With deployment, spouses reported that decision-making changed significantly for all four types of decisions. Decision-making at home was predominantly as a couple; during deployment, more decisions were by the spouse. However, decision-making stayed the same at home and during deployment for 1/3 to 2/3 of families, dependent on the type of decision, and these couples tended to make decisions together. Availability of communication methods that allow rapid exchange of information may contribute to couples managing decisions together. Before deployment, practitioners should discuss current family decision making and communication patterns and expectations during deployment. During deployment, spouses can be encouraged to take on responsibilities that will help build their independence and facilitate smooth functioning of family life. At the same time, encouragement to continue, as much as possible and appropriate, familiar decision-making during deployment and at home may help ease the SM’s transition from deployment to home
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