Date
4-26-2024
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Michael Howard
Keywords
married military couples, attachment theory, attachment styles, post-deployment
Disciplines
Counseling | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Coleman, Marchell, "Military Married Couples’ Reintegration Adult Attachment Experiences: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5438.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5438
Abstract
The purpose of this research study was to explore and understand how active-duty and veteran long-term military married couples mitigate separation and divorce after multiple post-deployment reintegration periods. This study employed qualitative research design and hermeneutic phenomenology to discover how these couples maintained long-term marriages. The researcher explored these military married couples' internal working models and adult attachment styles. In addition, it explored how these factors shaped their beliefs, responses, and attitudes toward separation and reunion as a married military couple. As a result, the researcher identified strategies and best practices to help military couples successfully mitigate the risk of separation and divorce and build strong, resilient relationships that can withstand the unique challenges of military life. The study also gathered the military married couples’ subjective experiences through semi-structured couple interviews, and cognitive representation exercises. The recorded, semi-structured interviews were guided by an interview protocol based on the tenets of attachment theory. These interviews explored the military couples' lived experiences, focusing on how they navigated emotional connections, attachment styles, and patterns of interaction during post-deployment reintegration phases. The study employed a deductive analysis approach by analyzing data collection. This process involved identifying codes within the participants' responses and connecting them with themes derived from attachment theory. This study contributed to adult attachment theory and had practical significance in long-term couple strategies on how military married couples should consider important aspects of their marital relationship and approach post-deployment reintegration that mitigates the likelihood of separation and divorce.
