Abusive supervision within the military ranks: A qualitative examination of positive emotion-focused coping strategies
APA Citation:
McDew, D. (2022). Abusive supervision within the military ranks: A qualitative examination of positive emotion-focused coping strategies [Doctoral dissertation, Abilene Christian University]. Digital Commons.
Focus:
Mental health
Branch of Service:
Army
Air Force
Navy
Marine Corps
Multiple branches
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Subject Affiliation:
Veteran
Population:
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Methodology:
Qualitative Study
Authors:
McDew, Demetrius, Smith, Donna
Abstract:
In this study, the researcher examined abusive supervision coping by military members. Based on social exchange theory and the power and influence theory, the researcher investigated whether veterans perceived emotional coping (avoidance, support seeking, and reframing) as strategies that mitigated stress caused by abusive supervision while they were serving in their respective military departments. Past studies have not accounted for junior officers or enlisted members; therefore, the researcher studied this lower ranking tier of personnel and discovered that the hierarchy of the military system affected their reporting of and receiving assistance in dealing with abusive supervision. Therefore, affected service members were more likely to utilize emotion-focused coping strategies to maneuver the situation. The results of this study indicated that the military hierarchy and loyalty to the chain of command were deterrents to lower-ranking members reporting abusive supervision. In lieu of reporting the abuse, the employees were able to find relief by utilizing emotion-focused coping with a heavy reliance on avoidance of the destructive leader.
Publisher/Sponsoring Organization:
Abilene Christian University
Publication Type:
Dissertations & Theses
Keywords:
abuse, emotion-focus coping, problem-focus coping