Daily Life, Communication and Affections of Siblings and Parents of Military Service Members in Mission

Duarte, Ana Santos; Francisco, Rita; Ribeiro, Maria Teresa; Santos, Renato Pessoa dos

doi:10.1590/1982-4327e3002

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In 2014, some studies began to be conducted with members of Portuguese military families, where the need for institutional support was mentioned (e.g., Barbudo, Francisco, & Santos, 2014 ), but few resources and support from the Portuguese military services aimed at Portuguese military families were developed only in the last decade, such as the Portuguese Army's "I, You & We" project ( Barbudo et al, 2014 ). Despite this fact, the families of Portuguese service members continue to mention the need to implement specific programs for military families ( Duarte, Francisco, Ribeiro, & Santos, 2020 ) because they identify gaps in military service support (e.g., Bóia et al, 2018 ; Duarte et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: The Portuguese Militarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Deployment risk and resilience model applied to military children

2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This exploratory study investigates the impact of a military mission on Portuguese families, specifically on children. Although most research seeks the negative consequences of this lived experience, through the “Deployment Risk and Resilience Model” the present study intends to explore if this period can also be an opportunity for military’s children to grow and become more resilient. Aiming to express freely their lived and felt stories about the phenomenon under study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 children of the service members of the Portuguese Army, aged between 8 and 21 years old. The results of the thematic analysis indicated that the most critical moments of the mission were the notification period, the last days before the departure of the service member, and the deployment. The preparation of activities for the service members’ absence in the pre-deployment and the increase of tasks to be carried out, during the deployment, were the most referenced changes. In the post-deployment, children perceived a rapid readjustment of the family system. Despite the military's children's difficulties in readjusting during the mission, they reported that the feelings of closeness to the nuclear family, increased responsibility, and personal growth were positive results experienced. It would be interesting to extend similar studies within family systems, as in other branches of the armed forces. As practical implications, the findings of our pioneering study may significantly contribute to the construction of programs and/or actions that promote a possible growth in the personal resilience of the children of Portuguese service members, and not only the recovery of the state prior to the mission.

show abstract

Section: The Portuguese Militarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Deployment risk and resilience model applied to military children

2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition to the effective support provided by the Portuguese military services (e.g., project “Eu, Tu & Nós” [“Me, You & Us”] of the Portuguese Army; Barbudo et al, 2014), only in the past few years have studies of Portuguese military families provided evidence regarding the need to implement specific programs due to the lack of information on the mission and the lack of support from military services (Barbudo et al, 2014; Duarte, Francisco, Ribeiro, & Santos, 2020; Martins, Santos, & Francisco, 2014; Pinto et al, 2017).…”

Section: Portuguese Military Familiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This stress has been described as a rollercoaster of emotions with feelings such as sadness, depression, anxiety, loneliness, rage, and/or relief (Pincus et al, 2001; Sheppard et al, 2010). In many cases, functional and emotional support is provided by all members of the family that become more connected (Duarte et al, 2020). As mentioned by Kawano and Atsuko (2015), in addition to institutional support, social support networks are essential.…”

Section: Emotional Experiences Of Soldiers and Their Spouses During T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological and emotional experiences during a military mission: A longitudinal study with soldiers and spouses.

Santos¹,

Francisco²,

Ribeiro³

et al. 2021

Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The long absence of a family member changes the entire family environment. The deployment of a service member has a strong impact on family relationships. This longitudinal study aims to analyze motivations, emotions, and changes experienced by soldiers and their spouses during a mission: anxiety, positive and negative emotions, social support, family and life satisfaction. Soldiers and spouses answered questionnaires during the three main phases of the mission (Wave [W] 1: predeployment, W2: deployment, W3: postdeployment). Soldiers also completed a questionnaire 6 months after they returned home (W4: follow-up). The sample (N = 313) comprised 255 male soldiers of the Portuguese Army (27–51 years old) and 58 female spouses (19–52 years old). A total of 123 participants had children at the time of the mission. The main reported reasons to go on a mission were personal fulfilment, career goals, and earning extra money. Higher levels of predeployment and postdeployment anxiety were observed among soldiers and their spouses. Service members exhibited more difficulties when deployed, whereas for their spouses, predeployment and deployment were more stressful periods. Soldiers who responded to the 6-month follow-up reported a lower capacity for adaptation and reintegration than they had at postdeployment. This study contributes to the construction of programs and/or actions that promote the achievement of “competences for a positive adaptation” and higher personal/family resilience, and it helps understand the reintegration of the soldier into the family environment to recover the family dynamics that existed before the mission.

show abstract

“…For example, parents experience dual emotions with a fluctuation between pride and satisfaction in their child's personal growth and loneliness and distress due to their child's absence and lost time with them (Basinger & Knobloch, 2018). Some parents emphasize negative emotions like "longing" "worrying" and "sadness" accompanied by a deep fear of not being able to embrace their beloved child again (Duarte et al, 2020). The distress and anxiety are often exacerbated when children are deployed to more dangerous, war-affected, regions (Andres & Moelker, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Being a parent of a soldier is a challenging experience – stress, anxiety, and depression among parents of Israeli soldiers

Savitsky,

Shvartsur

2024

Stress and Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

At any given moment, a notable proportion of parents worldwide have at least one child serving in the military. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in the sample of parents of Israeli soldiers and to assess the difference in this prevalence by type of service (combat vs. non‐combat) and other demographic characteristics of parents and soldiers. A cross‐sectional study of a convenience sample of 202 Israeli parents who were interviewed during January‐September 2023. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS‐21) was used to measure the emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress (with cut‐off points of ≥5, ≥4, and ≥8, respectively). Having depression, anxiety, or stress was defined as psychological distress. Parents' demographics and child's service characteristics were included in the multivariable logistic regression model, with psychological distress as a dependent variable. Almost a quarter (22.8%) of parents experienced distress, defined as having high depression, anxiety, or stress score. In a multivariable model, combat service (vs. non‐combat) was significantly associated with distress: parents of combat soldiers were four times more likely to report distress than parents of non‐combat soldiers (OR = 3.9; 95% CI: 1.3–11.8). Highly classified service preventing the child from sharing information with the parents was significantly associated with distress (OR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.2–5.3). Most distressed parents (78.3%) did not seek professional help, with the vast majority of those seeking assistance were female. Given the substantial proportion of parents suffering from mental distress found in this study, especially parents of combat soldiers and those serving in highly classified positions, healthcare professionals should be aware of parents' difficulties, be proactive in gathering information about their mental well‐being, and be prepared to provide professional help.

show abstract

Daily Life, Communication and Affections of Siblings and Parents of Military Service Members in Mission

Cited by 4 publications

References 22 publications

Deployment risk and resilience model applied to military children

Deployment risk and resilience model applied to military children

Psychological and emotional experiences during a military mission: A longitudinal study with soldiers and spouses.

Being a parent of a soldier is a challenging experience – stress, anxiety, and depression among parents of Israeli soldiers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About