Crow, J. R., Myers, D. R., Ellor, J. W., Dolan, S. L., & Morissette, S. (2016). Military deployment of an adult child: Ambiguous loss and boundary ambiguity reflected in the experiences of parents of service members Marriage & Family Review, 52(5), 481-509. http://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2015.1115454

The supportive role of parents of Service members is very important but often overlooked. A group of parents were interviewed to examine their reflections on their adult children's deployment. Results revealed that parents experienced ambiguous loss (i.e., there is no certainty that the adult child will come back, or return to the way they used to be) and boundary ambiguity (i.e., they were not sure if the deployed adult child should be kept in the family system psychologically) throughout their adult children's deployment cycle.

10.1080/01494929.2015.1115454

Children
Deployment
Parents

Multiple branches
Air Force
Army
Marine Corps
Navy

Reserve
Guard
Active Duty

Parent of a service member or veteran
Guard/Reserve member
Military families

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Aged (65 yrs & older)

Emperical Study
Longitudinal Study
Interview
Focus Group
Qualitative Study

Crow, Janet R., Myers, Dennis R., Ellor, James W., Dolan, Sara L., Morissette, Sandra

This study explored the experiences of parents of service members, military family members who are often overlooked even though they are likely a vital source of support for their military adult-children. Reflections on deployment of military adult-children were gathered from 21 parents in semistructured group interviews. A framework of ambiguous loss, boundary ambiguity, and ambivalence was used to analyze comments reflecting pre-deployment, deployment, and post-deployment experiences. Pre-deployment anticipation of leave-taking was associated with boundary ambiguity and ambivalence for parents, tempered by safety concerns. During deployment ambiguity in parental role expectations and parameters complicated parents’ attempts to manage physical absence and maintain psychological presence. Post-deployment challenged parents with ambiguous psychological presence and disruption of family boundaries, complicated by changes associated with the effects of war.

Taylor & Francis

Article
REACH Publication

Garland School of Social Work, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97346, Waco, TX, JRC
Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, Baylor University, Waco, TX, DRM
Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, Baylor University, Waco, TX, JWE
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, TX, SLD
University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, SM