Thesis (MComm (Industrial Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Contemporary militaries are facing an increasing number of deployments
compared to their previous counterparts. This is the result of globalisation and
the acknowledgement of interdependence between various countries. The
demand is even higher in the South African National Defence Force because
of its geographical and socio-political position. Emanating from its position it is
endowed with the task of stabilising the continent. This is an important task
considering the fact that no country can experience stability and economic
prosperity if its neighbours are unstable.
The people performing the above highly venerated task are members of
families with expectations. The demands posed by job demands in a form of
deployment put tremendous pressure on even the healthiest of families. The
situation is aggravated by the structure of most military families, cohesive
nuclear families isolated from the support of extended families. The resulting
conflict arising from the incompatibility affects all facets of a soldier’s life and
his/her family. The inevitable consequences include stress, and attitudes such
as job dissatisfaction, marital dissatisfaction, and low life satisfaction. The
culmination of these negative consequences spill over to work performance
and family stability.
The family is the most disadvantaged domain because the military ethos
enjoins soldiers to prioritise their work and treat the rest as secondary. This
leads to an irrefutable destabilisation of families, which is a common
experience in military families. The effects are more pronounced on women
due to the social roles endowed on them. Their role in nurturance and
emotional support make their absence more evident. The children are also not
spared from the suffering. The effects of the fragmentation in the family affect
their psychological wellbeing, their performance at school and their behaviour in general. The reunion often marks an apex of the tragedy. Returning parents find
changes at home, some feel out of sync and others force their way into the
families. The family roles have to be renegotiated, which is a process fraught
with conflicts. The parents who gained prerogatives in the absence of their
spouses are usually unwilling to relinquish their prominent positions. This
result in conflicts, which prompt the dissolution of families, and in some cases,
fathers withdraw and ask for unaccompanied long-term duties away from
home.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/4183 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Kgosana, Makatipe Charles |
| Contributors | Van Dyk, G. A. J., University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 186 p. |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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