Date

12-5-2022

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)

Chair

Kelly Orr

Keywords

military, military spouse, deployment, emotional well-being, psychological well-being

Disciplines

Counseling | Education

Abstract

Military spouses are confronted with multiple responsibilities daily. These demands intensify when their spouses deploy. By extension, military families respond differently and adapt to these stressors differently than civilian families. This necessitates coping with dynamic changes described as adequate or maladaptive. The deployment of one's spouse is also affiliated with mixed feelings such as anger, fear, joy, loneliness, anticipation, and relief. While the active-duty spouse is deployed, communication with the family allows a more significant emotional balance for the military member, the spouse, and the children to obtain a more favorable performance in their functions. Without proper and consistent communication, which often occurs during deployment, the emotional well-being of the spouses left behind is affected. Throughout the life cycle of military families, they suffer and must deal with internal pressures that result from changes inherent to the development of individuals and subsystems and external forces that require their adaptation to the social institutions that influence them. This is because both the military and the family systems are social institutions that require commitment, loyalty, time, and energy from their constituent members. The long-term deployment of military members results in spouses' emotional distress and psychological issues. They face stress, depression, and financial issues.

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