A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis of Female Service Members at War

Introduction

As women have played an increasing role in the US military, and that role continues to expand in the context of multiple continued conflicts, interest in understanding female service members’ experiences of war has increased. Qualitative studies of women’s deployment experiences have proliferated, but there is no single comprehensive understanding of these multiple perspectives. The purpose of this QIMS was to describe the deployment experiences of female service members. A clear understanding of these themes of women’s deployment and military experience repeated across studies can inform both practice and policy revisions. 

Methods

Data collection consisted of identifying studies that examined the experiences of women in the US military and US war. Of the studies reviewed, 11 were included in the present study. Once the sample was identified, the original themes were extracted from each individual study. Once emergent themes were identified, the researchers triangulated until translation was achieved. This process consisted of several meetings and eventual verification and saturation resulting in a combined translation

Results

From the 11 studies included in the analysis, 81 distinct themes were identified and extracted. Qualitative analysis yielded three overarching themes: (1) gender expectations, (2) lack of support, and (3) residual effects of exposure to war. The first theme, gender, included two subthemes: (a) female roles and responsibilities at home, and (b) gender discrimination and harassment within the military. The second theme, lack of support, generated two subcategories related to support (a) during deployment, and (b) post-deployment.

Discussion

These findings indicate that though female service members often encounter similar experiences of combat and their experiences of deployment have characteristics and circumstances that are unique to their female gender. The experience of being a female service member serving in a combat zone is inextricably colored by their gender in ways that can increase the stress already inherent in a combat deployment. This perception of threat from multiple sources (combat and sexual harassment or assault) combined with a lack of social support at both micro and mezzo levels post-deployment, can create a greater residual effect of deployment. Perception of threat is a critical factor in the development of post-deployment PTSD and depression (Lancaster, Cobb, Lee, & Telch, 2016). The results of this synthesis indicate that while work is being done to reduce gender discrimination and harassment and military sexual trauma (Wolff & Mills, 2016), the threat of sexual assault hangs over many female service members during deployment. This is even exacerbated by attempts to prevent sexual assault, such as warning female service members to travel in pairs; instead of comforting, this reifies the constant presence of the threat of assault based on female gender. Finally, these findings reiterate the importance of perceived social support for service members and veterans, both during deployment and during reintegration (Besser, Weinberg, Zeigler-Hill,  & Neria, 2014).