https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Cafferky2021

Cafferky, B. M., Reyes, C. A. D., Beaver, S. L., & Shi, L. (2022). “We’ll just draw the curtains!”: Military wives’ postures toward predeployment emotional preparation. Family Relations, 71(1), 389-407. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12591

13 military wives were interviewed to explore how military spouses emotionally prepare themselves for deployment. Wives discussed their attitudes toward emotional preparation (i.e., fearful apprehension, viewing preparation as impossible); approaches to emotional preparation (i.e., protective versus connective preparation); and the experience of emotional preparation on deployment day.

https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12591

Couples
Deployment
Mental health

Navy
Army
Marine Corps
Multiple branches

Active Duty

Spouse of service member or veteran

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)

Qualitative Study
Cross-Sectional Study

Cafferky, Bryan M., Reyes, Carmenoemi Angela D., Beaver, Sarah L., Shi, Lin

Objective This research explored how 13 military wives emotionally prepared for deployments, and how their preparation affected the degree of emotional difficulty experienced on deployment day. Background Previous research has identified that military wives emotionally detach or withdraw in order not to become emotionally overwhelmed leading up to deployment, but this may affect their deployment-day experience. Method A grounded theory approach to analyze semistructured interviews yielded emergent themes regarding how these military wives perceived the efficacy of emotionally preparing for deployment and their accompanying preparatory approaches. Results When preparing for deployment, these wives primarily adopted either a protective emotional preparation (PEP) approach (characterized by tactics of emotionally retreating, psyching yourself out, and/or circumventing emotional conversations) or a connective emotional preparation (CEP) approach (characterized by preemptive preparation, relying on husbands’ initiative, sharing quality time, or some sort of spiritual connection). Conclusion These PEP and CEP approaches seemed to influence the degree of emotional difficulty the wives reported experiencing on the day of deployment (traumatic vs. terribly difficult). Implications This PEP–CEP framework could help facilitate informed decisions about emotional preparation and Morse's emotional cycle of deployment. Implications and suggestions for policy and clinical considerations are discussed, including those pertaining to CFLEs, military organizations, and mental health professionals.

John Wiley & Sons

Article
REACH Publication

Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, School of Behavioral Health, Loma Linda University, BMC
Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, School of Behavioral Health, Loma Linda University, CADR
Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, School of Behavioral Health, Loma Linda University, SLB
Family and Consumer Sciences, College of Health and Human Sciences, Northern Illinois University, LS