https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Mancini18TRIP

Mancini, J. A., O’Neal, C. W., Martin, J. A., & Bowen, G. L. (2018). Community social organization and military families: Theoretical perspectives on transitions, contexts, and resilience. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 10, 550-565. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12271

Military families experience frequent transitions (e.g., relocations, deployments), which can pose risks for their relational and individual well-being. Despite these transitions, members of the military community have consistently exhibited a strong sense of community and shared ideals. As such, the military may be an exemplar of how community action can assist families in bolstering resilience. The social organization theory of action and change (SOAC) is a theoretical approach rooted in understanding the role of community action on family resilience. In this article, the SOAC is described and applied to the military context to assist researchers and practitioners in better understanding and supporting military families. In short, the SOAC describes how aspects of a family’s environment influence their sense of community, which can then affect individual and family outcomes.

https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12271

Other

Multiple branches

Theoretical Framework

Mancini, Jay A., O'Neal, Catherine W., Martin, James A., Bowen, Gary L.

The social organization theory of action and change accounts for transitions families face in community contexts. This perspective aligns with family stress and resilience theories, including the contextual model of family stress. Our discussion focuses on transitions of military families, including the continually changing nature of military family life. The military environment provides an opportunity for understanding family vulnerability and resilience from a community perspective, in effect, a perspective centered on contexts. Contexts include matters that families have control over and those they are unable to affect. The roles of shared responsibility and collective competence in moving families and communities forward are discussed, as are pivotal roles of informal networks and formal systems. Findings that align with this theorizing include influence of the military system and culture on families, as well as how sense of community emerges as a pivotal factor for family well-being.

John Wiley & Sons

Article
REACH Publication

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University of Georgia, JAM
University of Georgia, CWO
Bryn Mawr College, JAM
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, GLB