International Missions, Marital Relationships and Parenting in Military Families: An Exploratory Study

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

“…Palabras clave: psicología militar, emociones, comunicación, relaciones familiares, parientes Separation due to an international military mission is one of the major factors of stress for military families (Bóia, Marques, Francisco, Ribeiro, & Santos, 2018). Military parents and siblings experience great anguish (Rodriguez & Margolin, 2011), but are considered by the military as an important support during the mission (Institute of Medicine (2013).…”

“…In general, each military mission has three phases: the pre-deployment, which begins with the notification until the military departs to the operational theaters (OT); the deployment, period that corresponds to the time that the military is in the OT; and post-deployment, which begins when the service member definitely returns home (Houston, Pfefferbaum, Sherman, Melson, & Brand, 2013). Several studies have revealed that the resources needed for a good family adaptation during the mission in its different phases are the social support of friends, the functional support of family members and the communication between family and the military (Barbudo, Francisco, & Santos, 2014;Bóia et al, 2018;Manigart, Lecoq, & Bue, 2015;Martins, Santos, & Francisco, 2014). However, it is also essential to have individual coping resources and strategies, such as having a positive attitude towards the situation, learning from previous identical experiences, and the control of negative emotions (Bóia et al, 2018).…”

“…Several studies have revealed that the resources needed for a good family adaptation during the mission in its different phases are the social support of friends, the functional support of family members and the communication between family and the military (Barbudo, Francisco, & Santos, 2014;Bóia et al, 2018;Manigart, Lecoq, & Bue, 2015;Martins, Santos, & Francisco, 2014). However, it is also essential to have individual coping resources and strategies, such as having a positive attitude towards the situation, learning from previous identical experiences, and the control of negative emotions (Bóia et al, 2018).…”

“…However, and in order for the military to feel good during the mission, military services will have to support their family by enhancing "communication" between the military and his family members (Gottman, Gottman, & Atkins, 2011) and provide necessary support resources (Marek & D'Aniello, 2014). Despite these concerns, studies with Portuguese military families further highlight the impact of missions on marital and parental contexts (Barbudo et al, 2014;Bóia et al, 2018;Martins et al, 2014), neglecting the extended family relationships and the communication between the deployed military and other elements of the family system, such as parents and siblings. It means that the military institution provides resources to the military, and their nuclear family, but not to the extended family, which often also cares for the military's dependents (Cozza, Chun, & Polo, 2005).…”

Impacto das missões internacionais nos jovens filhos de pais militares e a importância do apoio da comunidade escolar

“…Os participantes referiram a comunicação como benéfica para tranquilizarem a sua preocupação e saberem novidades dos pais. Efectivamente, os estudos revelam que manter a comunicação e confirmar que todos estão bem durante o período do deslocamento revela ser importante não só para os membros da família mas também para o militar (Bóia, Marques, Francisco, Ribeiro, & Santos, 2017;Padden & Agazio, 2013). Para isso mencionaram várias vezes as TIC, afirmando recorrer à Internet e especificamente ao Skype para comunicarem com o progenitor deslocado.…”