Boundary Ambiguity and Ambivalence in Military Family Reintegration

Hollingsworth, William-Glenn L.; Dolbin‐MacNab, Megan L.; Marek, Lydia I.

doi:10.1111/fare.12207

Cited by 9 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 155 publications

(416 reference statements)

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“…Different conceptual models attempt to map the external variables that affect postdeployment reintegration (Hollingsworth et al, 2016). As mentioned above, these factors relate to the nature of the mission and demographic influences that affect military reintegration (Monson, Taft, & Friedman, 2009).…”

Section: External Context: Military and Societal Influencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The military rank of a soldier is a proxy for socioeconomic status. Research shows that lower ranking soldiers receive less pay and experience greater personal stress due to financial pressures (Hollingsworth et al, 2016, p. 604). Finances are often a point of contention when soldiers return home, especially where this relates to issues of family debt or where the money earn during deployment has been squandered by a spouse (Faber et al, 2008, p. 227).…”

Section: Challenges During Postdeployment Reintegrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also look at external and internal factors that affect reintegration. External factors are understood as specific to the nature of the mission as well as demographic and socioeconomic influences that affect reintegration (Bowling & Sherman, 2008; Drummet et al, 2003; Faber, Willerton, Clymer, MacDermid, & Weiss, 2008; Hollingsworth, Dolbin-MacNab, & Marek, 2016; Palmer, 2008; van Breda, 1999), while internal factors are those specific to the soldier, such as difficulties to unwind, de-stress, feelings of exclusion, and relational turbulence and parenting problems (Knobloch & Theiss, 2010, 2012, 2014; Sayers, Farrow, Ross, & Oslin, 2009, p. 167).…”

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confidence: 99%

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No Place Like Home? Postdeployment Reintegration Challenges Facing South African Peacekeepers

Heinecken

Wilén

2019

Armed Forces & Society

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This study focuses on soldiers returning from peacekeeping missions and the challenges they experience adapting to the home environment in the postdeployment phase. The article focuses on South African peacekeepers returning from missions in Darfur/Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi. Interviews with 50 South African peacekeepers on the challenges they face in terms of their homecoming, family reintegration, and military support were conducted. Overall, the study found that both external military factors such as deployment length and nature of mission, and internal factors specific to the soldier affected reintegration. We highlight three major findings of our study: Firstly, our analysis show that peacekeepers across gender, rank, and race identify the absence from their children as a major challenge. Secondly, while relational turbulence characterized by ambivalence and concerns about infidelity was prevalent among all, there was a clear difference in the answers between the male and female peacekeepers. Thirdly, a large majority voiced the need for more support from the military institution for their families, before, during, and after deployment.

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Section: External Context: Military and Societal Influencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Challenges During Postdeployment Reintegrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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No Place Like Home? Postdeployment Reintegration Challenges Facing South African Peacekeepers

Heinecken

Wilén

2019

Armed Forces & Society

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“…The external context refers to the culture or environment in which the family is living (Lucier‐Greer et al, 2015) and includes the connections they have within their community (Mancini et al, 2005). The internal context includes items related to the family's structure (e.g., roles, responsibilities, boundary ambiguity), philosophical (e.g., beliefs, values), and psychological features (e.g., perceptions, meaning making; Boss et al, 2017; Hollingsworth et al, 2016).…”

Section: Boundary Ambiguity and Cmfsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Boundary ambiguity may be particularly problematic for families in which an adult is frequently away for work (Hollingsworth et al, 2016), which is often the case for military families due to deployment and other separations. Every time a military family separates and reunites, especially when separations are lengthy, the family system must reorganize and create new boundaries around roles.…”

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confidence: 99%

Financial Boundary Ambiguity Among Military Spouses

McCoy

O’Neal²,

Gale³

et al. 2020

Family Relations

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Objective The military lifestyle of extended training programs and deployments creates a need to clearly define each partner's roles and responsibilities after each departure and reunion. Background Previous researchers have discovered that the less ambiguity that occurs when an individual enters or departs the family system, the less likely the family is to experience strain or crisis. One challenging area of boundary definition is finances, as couples tend to avoid talking about money which may contribute to financial boundary ambiguity. Methods This study applies the contextual model of family stress to examine financial boundary ambiguity and its association with marital quality in the post‐deployment stage. This article presents a theory‐driven exploration of financial boundary ambiguity using the actor–partner interdependence model and structural equation modeling. Results Study findings indicate that role flexibility, as well as clear and open communication, are related to less financial boundary ambiguity. This, in turn, is related to higher marital quality, although there are differences in the actor and partner effects between financial boundary ambiguity and marital relations. Conclusion To more fully understand coping and resilience among military couples, the authors applied the contextual model of family stress focused on financial elements to clarify the significance of how the couples navigated their roles and interactions. Implications Programs focused on financial and relational health should focus on fostering communication around financial roles during periods of transition, such as the deployment cycle. In particular, programs should be oriented around strategies for reducing the stress that surrounds financial uncertainties and strain, in addition to teaching effective financial management.

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Latent profiles of postdeployment reintegration among service members and their partners.

O’Neal

Lavner²

2022

Journal of Family Psychology

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Consistent with the emotional cycle of deployment, postdeployment reintegration is often a time of highs and lows as service members (SMs) and their families adjust to their new normal. However, few studies have considered the nuances of reintegration, specifically the various patterns of personal and family reintegration experiences that may exist. The present study uses latent profile analysis to identify unique reintegration patterns along four dimensions (i.e., positive personal, negative personal, positive family, and negative family reintegration) for SMs (N = 236) and a subsample of their civilian partners (N = 141). Differences among the resulting reintegration profiles were also examined for demographics, military-related characteristics, psychosocial characteristics, and individual and family functioning. Three profile groups with varying reintegration experiences emerged for SMs, and two groups emerged for civilian partners. For both SMs and their civilian partners, one profile (39.0% of SMs and 63.8% of civilian partners) was characterized by high positive family and personal reintegration and low negative family and personal reintegration. Other groups reported moderate to high positive and negative family and personal reintegration. SMs and civilian partners with the most favorable reintegration profile reported greater family cohesion. For SMs, differences in sleep were also reported across the reintegration profiles, whereas, for civilian partners, differences in depressive symptoms emerged across the reintegration profiles. Few group differences emerged for demographics, military-related characteristics, and psychosocial characteristics. Findings highlight important variability in military families' experiences within the reintegration stage of the deployment cycle.

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Boundary Ambiguity and Ambivalence in Military Family Reintegration

Abstract: Since the beginning of the Global War on Terror, almost three million children, spouses, and adult dependents have been directly affected by the deployment experiences of more than two million service members. This study examined the applicability of the Contextual Model of

Cited by 9 publications

References 155 publications

No Place Like Home? Postdeployment Reintegration Challenges Facing South African Peacekeepers

No Place Like Home? Postdeployment Reintegration Challenges Facing South African Peacekeepers

Financial Boundary Ambiguity Among Military Spouses

Latent profiles of postdeployment reintegration among service members and their partners.

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