Publication year
2015
Citation Title
Developing conceptual definitions and theoretical models of coping in military families during deployment.
Journal Name
Journal of Family Communication
Journal Volume
15
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
249-268
DOI
10.1080/15267431.2015.1043737
Summary
Female spouses of currently deployed Service members were interviewed to examine spousal coping strategies. Spouses described multiple helpful coping strategies during deployment, including being flexible, informing and reassuring children, and engaging in healthy behaviors.
Key Findings
Women reported using multiple coping strategies during deployment, including keeping busy and distracting themselves, engaging in healthy behaviors such as visiting with friends and exercising, and using positive self-talk.
During deployment, women attempted to be more flexible and open to new things; they also relied more on social connections with friends, family, partners, and social groups.
While their partners were deployed, women helped children cope by offering information (e.g., where their fathers were and what they were doing) and reassurance (e.g., how much their fathers loved and missed them).
Women expressed that maintaining communication between their deployed Service members and at-home children (e.g., via the phone, web camera, email, packages, and letters) helped the family cope with deployment.
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer support classes for military spouses experiencing deployment about effective coping strategies
Provide courses for family members about the impact of deployment on children’s adjustment and tips for helping children adjust during deployment
Host activities that promote healthy behaviors for at-home spouses, such as opportunities to exercise together or experiment with new hobbies
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support programs for military spouses and children during deployment
Continue to encourage the use of communication technology such as web cameras and phones for deployed Service members and their families
Continue to support enjoyable family activities for at-home parents and their children during deployment to promote healthy coping
Methods
Online outreach (e.g., Meetup, military spouse blogs), network outreach (e.g., support groups, colleagues) and snowball sampling (e.g., asking participants to refer people they knew) were used to recruit military spouses.
Semi-structured interviews queried about deployment experiences, challenges and benefits of deployment, and the effects of deployment on families.
Data were analyzed based on themes present throughout the interview transcripts.
Participants
Participants were 26 women who were married or engaged to male Service members who were deployed outside the United States.
Their average age was 27 years and the average number of children was 1.2. The racial composition of the sample was 81% White, 8% Latino, 12% multiracial.
Among the sample, the average number of Service member deployments was two.
Limitations
Additional factors that may influence spouses’ coping during deployment, such as differences across branches, jobs, or deployment locations, were not examined.
Only female spouses were included in the study; it is unknown how these results might generalize to male spouses.
All data were self-report, which may introduce biases.
Avenues for Future Research
Gather data about coping with deployment from both the deployed spouse and at-home spouse
Employ longitudinal designs to examine spouses’ coping strategies across the deployment cycle
Replicate this study with a larger and more representative sample of military spouses
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Military deployment is a stressful event that can create numerous challenges; yet many families are able to maintain resilience. This study examines how military spouses/partners cope, individually and within their families, during spousal deployment. In-depth interviews were conducted with 26 female spouses/partners with male partners currently deployed. The results indicate that military partners enact various individual (e.g., distraction/escape, emotion coaching), social (e.g., support seeking, protective buffering), and communal (e.g., adjusting responsibilities, distracting/engaging children, enabling father-child involvement, privacy management) coping strategies. The study attempts to extend Afifi et al.’s theoretical model of coping through further developing conceptualizations of coping forms and functions.
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