When military members deploy or temporarily relocate, spouses are left behind to maintain not only their normal day-to-day activities, but also assume the responsibilities of the absent spouse. In cases such as these potentially stressful events, it is important to have adequate support networks within the community to assist individuals in sustaining a sense of personal well-being. The data source of the study is the 2001 Survey of Army Families IV. The survey focuses on randomly selected wives of active duty Army members (n=6451). The research model for this study includes wives' adaptation as the criterion variable, with community connections as independent variables and a set of contextual influence measures also considered as independent variables. Regression analysis for the entire sample indicated that wives with greater adaptation utilized more formal network resources. Among wives of officers, the most important predictors were volunteering and having a close confidant, whereas among wives of enlisted military members most important factors were participating with the Family Readiness Group and employment status. / Master of Science

The title of this study, Non-Civilian/Civilian, illustrates the paradoxical positioning of children of military personnel: Though dependants are not in the military, they are not entirely separate from it either. Many studies have addressed the lives of military families as a whole but few studies have focused on a Canadian context, and fewer have addressed the perspectives of adolescents from military families. Data collected through individual interviews recorded and assembled using a digital storytelling method afforded in-depth exploration of three participants’ recollections of growing up in military families. Focusing on the research question “What are the experiences of youth with parents in the Canadian Armed Forces, and how do they approach this unique lifestyle?” the research participants provided rich accounts of their lives as dependants in a Canadian Armed Forces family. Video interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify thematic patterns, commonalities, tensions, and gaps within and across the participants’ stories. Key findings that were consistent with existing research included repeated and ongoing parent separation adding stress to all aspects of family life; children’s fears about absent or deployed parent(s); high levels of mobility causing disruptions in education and relationships; and multiple losses and reconstruction of community after each relocation. Of particular note were themes of youth mental health and well-being and strained relationships with fathers as the participants became adolescents. These themes spoke to the centrality of the role played by the remaining parent and their ability to support normalcy, routine, and confidence within the family unit. Participants noted the imperative for the serving parent(s) or stepparent, specifically if the serving member is the father/stepfather, to attend to each individual relationship within the family unit in order to nurture familial closeness and a strong child-parent bond. Participants also highlighted the importance of identifying signs of negative coping behaviours, and a need to follow through with professional consultation when necessary. This study contributes to current research by offering a Canadian youth perspective on everyday life for members of the Armed Forces and their families, and provides insight as to how the military lifestyle affects children/youth within a family unit. Study findings provide targeted areas for further research and will be relevant for both military and civilian educators, mental health care workers, and other professionals who work with youth of military families. / Graduate

Airmen serving in the U.S. Air Force have made significant contributions to the overall war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Deployment, combat exposure, and subsequent combat-related mental health issues can have effects that extended beyond the airmen to the family. The primary aim of this study was to determine the path through which such effects occur within the context of risk and protective factors. The risk factors identified in this study were: deployment length and frequency and psychological symptomology. The construct of social support was also examined as an identified protective factor. This study examined the relationships between all of these variables using regression, moderation and mediation. Method: Secondary data were obtained from the Air Force Community Assessment, a large-scale, anonymous survey fielded in the spring of 2008 from a stratified random sample of active duty airmen. Results: Long and repeated deployments slightly increased the likelihood of the presence of both posttraumatic and depressive symptoms (.6% of variance explained in the variable deployment length and .5% in variable deployment frequency, p< .001). Furthermore, as psychological symptoms increase, there is a decrease in the quality of family relationships (7.2% of the variance explained in variable spousal relationships and 9.7% of the variance explained in the variable parent-child relationships, both statistically significant at p< .001). Social support was found to have a slightly moderating effect on the relationship between the deployment factors and both spousal and parent–child relationships (2.3% of the variance explained in both spousal and parent-child relationships, statistically significant at p< .001). Finally, this study examined the roll of psychological symptomology as a mediator between the variables deployment length/frequency and family relationships (spousal and parent-child). Findings demonstrate the strongest support for psychological symptomology (posttraumatic stress and depressive) as a mediator for the relationship between deployment length and spousal relationships. Findings were less conclusive and did not point toward mediation, for the relationship between deployment frequency and spousal relationships mediated by either type of psychological symptomology; i.e. posttraumatic stress of depressive. In addition, psychological symptomology did not mediate the relationship between both deployment length and frequency and parent-child relationships. This is, in part, a notable finding because “deployment frequency” has been a significant hallmark of the OIF and OEF conflicts; much emphasis has been placed on both deployment length and deployment frequency in the context of the current OIF and OEF war efforts. The current data demonstrate more implications for deployment length compared to frequency when predicting outcomes related to family relationships.

Thesis advisor: Callista Roy / The purpose of this secondary analysis was to understand the coping and adaptation processes of reservist soldiers and one family member throughout the first year following deployment to Iraq. A directed content analysis based on the Roy (2009, 2011) conceptualization of coping and adaptation was accomplished on 75 interviews from 20 Army Reserve and family participants. Research questions were; which contextual stimuli affected the coping capacity for dealing with focal stimuli; military deployment and reintegration. Second, whether resourceful and focused coping at Wave 1 positively influenced the adaptation level at 52 weeks. Third, whether physical and fixed coping at Wave 1 negatively affected the adaptation level at 52 weeks. Fourth, whether coping capacity varied during the reintegration year. Findings confirmed primary study outcomes (MacDermid, 2006) where participants described individualized reintegration. Informants' depictions were different from the previously published, "New Emotional Cycles of Deployment." Contextual stimuli were complicating or protective and exerted substantial influence on managing the deployment and reintegration. Cognitive-emotional processing the meaning and repercussions of the deployment is part of the reintegration process. Resourceful and focused coping positively affected the adaptation level at 52 weeks. Insufficient reports of physical and fixed coping precluded determining its effect. Coping efforts were a discrete measure of coping extrapolated from narratives, and were found to fluctuate throughout the year. When demands intensified, participants accelerated their coping efforts as predicted by the Roy adaptation model (2009). Coping strategies were effective or ineffective. Concepts of transcendence, transformation, and hope were understood in new ways within the Roy model. Transcendence in individuals and groups was further explicated. Spirit was another concept from Roy's work that was observed in the participants. Implications for policy, theory, nursing practice, education and research are discussed. Keywords: adaptation, adaptation level, coping, coping efforts, Roy adaptation model, spirit, transcendence, transformation, hope, military deployment, post-deployment, reintegration, Reservist, military family, deployment cycle, directed content analysis / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing. / Discipline: Nursing.

Little published research has examined the post-implementation outcomes of public private partnerships for housing, specifically the Military Privatized Housing Initiative (MPHI) from the perspective of the end user, the Military Family Housing (MFH) resident. Using Mettler and SoRelle's conceptualization of policy feedback theory as the foundation, the purpose of this repeated cross-sectional study was to assess residential satisfaction pre- and post- implementation of the MPHI. The study also addressed the influence of sociodemographic factors on MFH residents' perceived residential satisfaction. Secondary data were collected using 2 Department of Defense surveys administered pre- and post-implementation. An independent-samples t test was used to examine residential satisfaction before and after implementation of the MPHI. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the influence of sociodemographic characteristics on residential satisfaction of MFH residents. Results indicated that privately-managed MFH residents were less satisfied than residents of government-managed MFH (p < .001). Results also showed that paygrade, branch of service, ethnicity/race, and having children or dependents in a household were significant determinants of residential satisfaction for government-managed MFH residents (p < .05). In privately-managed MFH, residents having children or dependents in the household was a significant determinant of residential satisfaction (p < .05). The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to policy makers to continue examination of MPHI outcomes and improve data collection consistency to ensure current housing policies are meeting the needs of military families.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Wolosin, 2003). Female officers are often overlooked in military QOL research, however they face the same, if not more difficult work/family conflicts than their civilian counterparts or their male military compatriots. Data from the 2002 Navy Quality of Life Survey were used to examine life domains where work/family conflict has the greatest impact on retention. Hierarchical regression was used to identify life domains (e.g., family factors, job experiences, job satisfaction, and commitment) that are key drivers of retention intent among female Naval officers. By identifying areas that are strongly related to female officer retention intentions, policymakers can explore developing strategies to support female officers, such as family support programs, mentoring programs, or professional support networks. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

Several reserachers have identified the challenges faced by military adolescent dependents. However, scholarly literature provides little evidence regarding examples of the impact of military adolescents' transition and adjustment to residing in a multicultural community overseas. A qualitative case study was conducted of 6 former military adolescents between the ages of 18 and 25, regarding their perceptions of the experiences and challenges they encountered while residing in a multicultural overseas community as a military dependent between grades 8-12. Benet's polarities of democracy served as the theoretical framework. All data were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis from which 5 themes emerged. Participants unanimously agreed that the lack of needed information while discussing transition with their parents led to negative experiences. Participants also agreed that they have not been included in policy development regarding military adolescent programs, which negatively impacted their integration into the overseas communities. Overall, the results of this study highlight the challenges this population encounters and indicates that the polarity pairs have not been leveraged well, thereby negatively impacting the participants' overall overseas experience. This study may encourage positive social change by informing Department of Defense policy makers and local installation leaders regarding the enactment of programs that better support military families with adolescent dependents living in an overseas environment. Such policy changes may enhance the experience of dependent military adolescents, encourage the military personnel's future commitment to military service, and support service member retention.

In 1996, the U.S. Congress initiated a change to the Department of Defense (DOD) military family housing program. Applying organizational learning and change theories, this study of the Department of the Air Force (AF) reveals how the AF used $617 million of federal funds and $8.3 billion of matching private investment to significantly upgrade or construct and manage 53,323 AF family housing units. Using an outcome-oriented process tracing methodology, I examine the process changes, organizational structure modifications, and strategy adjustments the AF instituted to implement this latest attempt at providing military family housing. To understand how those adjustments occurred, this research uses organizational routine theory to help explain how organizations generate change by performing their day-to-day activities. This single-case historical study of AF family housing privatization, used process tracing to identify five primary organizational routines that determine know when there is a minimally sufficient explanation of how the AF learned and changed while privatizing the existing military family housing stock. These organizational routines help to clarify the organizational strategy, implementation process, and structure changes that emerged during privatization to address the quality, quantity, affordability, and timeliness of AF military family housing. The AF approach to transforming military family housing might be applicable to other publicly funded housing programs. / Ph. D.

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Denna C-uppsats är en meta-analys som granskar 20 vetenskapliga artiklar om partnerrelaterat våld, grymheter i krig och könsmaktsordningar i militära familjer. Alla studier är publicerade mellan 1978 och 2011 och behandlar våld i parrelationer, grymheter som begåtts av både manliga och kvinnliga soldater och kausala samband mellan krig, militarism och det civila samhället. Mitt mål är att testa teorin som säger att krig beror på patriarkala köns-strukturer som konstruerar stereotypa maskuliniteter och femininiteter, vilka i sin tur definierar män som starka, aggressiva och känslolösa, medan kvinnor antas vara svaga, sårbara, och vårdande. Genom att undersöka och jämföra variabler i både positivistisk och konstruktivistisk forskning, söker jag likheter och skillnader som kan ge en vidare förståelse för hur detta fenomen är sammansatt. / This BA thesis is a meta-analysis that reviews 21 empirical studies on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and gender-relations among military families and the environmental structures in where they live and operate. All studies were published between 1978 and 2011 and reported Intimate Partner Violence in both military and civilian families, atrocities committed by both male and female soldiers and causalities on war and violence. My aim is to test the theory that says; war is depending on patriarchal gender-structures, that construct stereotype masculinities and femininities, which define men as strong, aggressive, and unemotional, while women are assumed to be weak, vulnerable, and caring. By examining both positivist and constructivist research, my ambition is to identify differences and similarities in those approaches, which can contribute to a wider understanding on this specific phenomenon.