Contradictions and Praxis Contextualized by Wartime Deployment: Wives' Perspectives Revealed through Relational Dialectics

Depressive Symptoms, Relational Turbulence, and the Reintegration Difficulty of Military Couples Following Wartime Deployment

“…Second, information is lacking about how the availability, frequency, and content of communication between military couples across the deployment cycle colors their experiences when reunited. Although communication between service members and their families during a tour of duty can bolster morale, provide support, and foster intimacy, it also can generate stress, heighten anxiety, and spark conflict (Joseph & Afifi, 2010;Lara-Cinisomo et al, 2012;Merolla, 2010), especially if access to technology is unreliable, expensive, and subject to security restrictions (Greene, Buckman, Dandeker, & Greenberg, 2010;Sahlstein et al, 2009). We see value in future work that examines how people's communication during deployment provides a foundation for their reunion experiences.…”

“…We devoted this study to answering calls for research on the dynamics that contribute to difficulty during reintegration following deployment (Bowling & Sherman, 2008;Park, 2011;Sahlstein et al, 2009). We drew on recent advancements of the relational turbulence model to theorize about depressive symptoms, relational uncertainty, and interference from partners.…”

Passport Toward Success: Description and Evaluation of a Program Designed to Help Children and Families Reconnect after a Military Deployment

“…Preschool children may regress developmentally and seem clingy, elementary school children may worry that their parents' separation could be permanent, and adolescents may feel overburdened but proud of taking on new responsibilities (Huebner et al, 2007;Pincus et al, 2001). Spouses and children also experience mixed emotions during the reunion stage as they renegotiate routines and family responsibilities yet again and balance competing demands for openness and privacy, often knowing that the service member could be redeployed in the future (Faber, Willerton, Clymer, MacDermid, & Weiss, 2008;Sahlstein et al, 2009). Preschool children may experience both excitement and a strong need for reassurance, elementary school children both excitement and a strong desire for attention, and adolescents both relief and yet anger at what has happened.…”

“…During pre-deployment, family members may emotionally distance themselves from the service member in anticipation of the separation, which is compounded when the service member works long hours in preparation for the departure and when the exact departure date remains uncertain (Huebner, Mancini, Wilcox, Grass, & Grass, 2007;Sahlstein, Maguire, & Timmerman, 2009). Preschool children may feel confusion and guilt that somehow they are responsible for their parent's upcoming departure; elementary school children and adolescents may feel angry and abandoned as well as worry about how the non-deployed parent will cope.…”

Communication and Distance: The Present and Future Interpreted through the Past

“…These maintenance behaviors positively influenced the central figure in Merolla's study*the military wife*and her ability to sustain her marriage during the difficult separation from her deployed husband. While Merolla's participants reported their children and social network members supported them during deployment, other data reflects constraining features of the interactions within these relationships, as well (Sahlstein, Maguire, & Timmerman, 2009). The question of the efficacy of social network maintenance strategies was not directly addressed.…”