Military Spouses Speak up: A Qualitative Study of Spouses' Experiences and Needs

Background and Purpose: An estimated 2.6 million U.S. service members have deployed to support post-911 conflicts (Institute of Medicine, 2012). It is not surprising that the demands of military service (e.g., long hours away from family for work and training, frequent geographical change) and psychological and emotional consequences of deployment (e.g., PTSD, TBI, sleep disturbance, substance use, stress of long separation) impact the entire family system. Social workers may be in a unique position to understand, support, and intervene with military families through their attunement to family systems and person-in-environment theoretical orientation. Developing an understanding of the specific risks and resiliency from the perspective of service members' spouses can enrich the knowledge base from which social workers practice. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine military family life through the lens of the spouses of active duty service members and veterans.

Methods: A qualitative study of military and veteran spouses was conducted with 25 spouses who had participated in spouse panels at a national military social work conference. Spouses represented a range of ages, male and female perspectives and all service branches as well National Guard. Responses to panel questions and individual interviews after the conference were analyzed with qualitative data analysis methods. Content analysis was conducted with panel responses and interview texts. Two coders developed congruent coding and developed consensus on overarching themes.

Results: Central themes regarding the knowledge that social workers need to effectively engage with military families emerged from the data: (1) military culture, (2) military service experience, (3) typical military family dynamics and (4) preferred service delivery models. Commonalities and differences across service branches are highlighted. In addition, themes related to the stressors and rewards associated with various stages of military life are identified and described: transitioning from military service to civilian life, reintegration of service members back into the family unit after deployment and after military service has ended, and the impact of military life on children and marriage. Rich quotes are presented that embody the themes identified.

Conclusions and Implications: Each of these themes serve as components for a model of understanding required of social workers (and other professionals) to effectively engage with, and provide services to military families.