Community Social Organization and Military Families: Theoretical Perspectives on Transitions, Contexts, and Resilience

Abstract

The social organization theory of action and change accounts for transitions families face in community contexts. This perspective aligns with family stress and resilience theories, including the contextual model of family stress. Our discussion focuses on transitions of military families, including the continually changing nature of military family life. The military environment provides an opportunity for understanding family vulnerability and resilience from a community perspective, in effect, a perspective centered on contexts. Contexts include matters that families have control over and those they are unable to affect. The roles of shared responsibility and collective competence in moving families and communities forward are discussed, as are pivotal roles of informal networks and formal systems. Findings that align with this theorizing include influence of the military system and culture on families, as well as how sense of community emerges as a pivotal factor for family well‐being.

Toward a Framework for Military Family Life Education: Culture, Context, Content, and Practice

“…The CMFS has been discussed concurrently with the social organization theory of action and change (SOAC), primarily focused on the relationships between families and communities (Mancini & Bowen, ; Mancini, Bowen, & Martin, ; Mancini et al, ). Communities have been discussed as an external context that may be closely connected to family interaction and dynamics because of informal networks that comprise communities (Bowen et al, ).…”

“…Life course theory distinguishes various types of time : individual time (chronological time), generational time (the cohort or generation of an individual), and historical time (Lee & MacDermid Wadsworth, ). The events of 9/11 represent a salient marker of historical time; in that, it was a large‐scale event with notable consequences for individuals and families (Morgan, Wisneski, & Skitka, ), particularly military families (Mancini et al, ). After 9/11, those who were already part of the military experienced a deployment cycle change characterized by repeated deployments with short returns home between deployments (called dwell time).…”

“…For many families, transition and change are defining features of military life, with rank and promotions being two examples. Service members (and to some extent, military spouses) wear their rank visibly on their uniforms, which also represents the individual's and family's social address to a large degree (Mancini et al, ). Promotions, or transitions in rank, are acknowledged and celebrated in formal and informal ways.…”

“…Nonetheless, most military families fare well managing both normative and unique vulnerabilities, often demonstrating resilience (Masten, ). As with civilian families, military families benefit from their informal networks of friends, neighbors, colleagues, and extended family, as well as the formal systems of support designed to supplement their skills for managing stress and transitions (Mancini, O'Neal, Martin, & Bowen, ). One component of formal support is family life education (FLE), which is information, educational programs, and services delivered in various ways and on various topics with the goal of providing resources to families that foster resilience when challenges arise.…”

Community, Context, and Coping: How Social Connections Influence Coping and Well‐Being for Military Members and Their Spouses

“…One very visible example is the clear hierarchical nature of the military as a system and as an employer, and another example is the periodic geographic relocations of those in the Active Duty military, along with their families (Blaisure, Saathoff‐Wells, Pereira, Wadsworth, & Dombro, ). The risks that military families face, especially since 9/11 due to multiple deployments on several war fronts, set them apart in significant ways from civilian families (Mancini, O'Neal, Martin, & Bowen, ). Military families not only have the unique challenges of their military sub‐culture but must also navigate many of the same challenges that civilian families face.…”