Citation

Ross AM, Devoe ER, Steketee G, Spencer R, Richter M. Fam. Process 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Family Process Institute, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/famp.12622

PMID

33247431

Abstract

The adverse effects of deployment-related stress (DRS) on military service members, spouses, and children are well documented.

FINDINGS from a recent Consensus Report on Military Families by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (2019) underscore the priority of gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity of today's military families and their needs and well-being. While social support is generally regarded as helpful during times of stress, it has not been studied extensively in National Guard/Reserve spouses who are parents of young children. This qualitative study of 30 women examines the unique ways in which DRS affects women who are National Guard/Reserve spouses and mothers of young children, as well as the processes through which they encountered support to manage these stressors. Salient themes spanned experiences involving deployment cycle phases of separation and reintegration and included both anticipated and unanticipated changes in family-related division of labor, dynamics, and communication patterns. These were complicated by geographic, social, and cultural isolation and misguided efforts to support spouses initiated by civilians. Women managed these stressors primarily through seeking, acquiring, and repurposing existing sources of informal social support for themselves and formal supports for their children, with varying degrees of success.

Language: en

Keywords

Parenting; Social support; apoyo social; crianza; Deployment related stress; esposas de militares; estrés relacionado con la movilización militar; familias de militares; Military families; Military spouses; 与服役有关的压力; 养育子女; 军人家庭; 军人配偶; 社会支持