Family Reintegration of Reserve Service Members Following Wartime Deployment:

1
Family Reintegration of Reserve Service Members
Following Wartime Deployment

• A Qualitative Exploration of Wives Experience
• by Lisa R. Gorbaty

2
Setting the Stage

• Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) began on
  October 7, 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom
  (Iraq) began on March 19, 2003
  
• Of the 1,010,761 soldiers in the Army, 48 are
  active duty, 33 are National Guard and 19 are
  Reserve
  
• At one point in 2005, over half of all troops
  deployed to Iraq were in the National Guard
  (Selsky, 2007)
  
• According to the Department of Defense (2007),
  75 of all reserve troops are parents
  

3
Purpose of the Present Study

• Gain an in-depth understanding of the experience
  of spouses of Army Reserve and Army National
  Guard service members
  
• To examine long term family reintegration
  processes (5 mos-4 years following return)
  
• To examine how wartime deployment cycles affect
  families (historically, reserve troops did not
  deploy to combat zones)

4
Structured Interview

• Deployment
• Reintegration (ST LT)
• Level of support
• Transition to civilian work
• Experience as civilian spouse with deployed
  husband
  
• Physical Mental Health
• Marriage

5
Demographic Information

• (n8)
• Caucasian, English speaking
• Average age 40, range 25-57 years old
• 5 Protestant, 2 Catholic, 1 non-denominational
  Christian
  
• 5 National Guard, 3 Army Reserve
• 3 Officers (attend Officers Candidate School), 4
  Non-commissioned Officers (an enlisted service
  member that has been granted authority by an
  Officer), 1 Warrant Officer (technical experts
  rank considered between NCOs and Officers)
• Lived 30-90 miles from nearest military base
• Husbands returned 5mo-4years earlier
• Children, age range 3mo-27 years

6
Challenges for Reservist families

• Participants had held no expectation that husband
  would deploy to war zone
  
• Civilian employment status financial concerns
• Lack of camaraderie with other military families
  (i.e. husbands were cross-leveled, pulled from
  units across New England)
  
• Lack of formal military and social support
• Caught between civilian and military world
• Increased comfort seeking support from other
  military wives or family with military
  experience
  
• Lack of understanding from general public

7
Ambiguous Loss

• Many participants reported that their husbands
  were changed men upon return
  
• PTSD damage to marital relationship, parental
  relationship feelings of anger, resentment,
  isolation were reported
  
• Ambiguous Loss (Boss, 2007)
• Psychological presence, physical absence
• Physical presence, psychological absence
• Ambivalence regarding gratitude for husbands
  service and resentment over changes
  

8
Concerns of Burdening Others

• Participants reported that both partners withheld
  information during deployment in an effort to
  avoid burdening or worrying one another during
  deployment
• Majority of wives believed husbands withheld
  extent of wartime experiences upon return
  
• Wives ambivalence about gaining this
  information
  
• Keeping brave front for children and general
  community
  

9
Social Support FRGs

• All participants felt supported to some degree,
  majority would have appreciated additional
  supports all felt formal military supports were
  lacking
• Commonly sought support from friends, family,
  neighbors, church may be isolated in community
  (Bartone, 1999) so accessing support may be
  challenging
• Problems with FRGs location, times, gossipy,
  lacking in information
  

10
Shifts in Roles and Responsibilities

• All participants reported shifts in household
  roles and responsibilities during deployment
  five reported major changes two participants
  unable to maintain employment
• Particular problems for those married to veterans
  with PTSD (assuming all responsibilities for
  house, childcare, finances)
  
• Half of all participants did not want to
  relinquish new roles they had adopted during
  deployment, particularly those associated with
  increased independence
• Lack of clarity may be disorienting for spouse,
  veteran, and children

11
Childrens Experience

• Two families had children seeing MH
  professionals, another debating
  
• Increased anger and resentment (25), academic
  problems (25), major behavioral problems (13)
  
• How are these childrens issues understood by
  friends, teachers, etc.? (vignette)
  
• Veteran difficulty assuming parenting role upon
  return as a result of PTSD
  
• Veteran difficult assuming parenting roleleft
  baby, returns to toddler

12
Effects of PTSD on Families

• PTSD- 25 in present study, consistent with
  national reported average (DeAngelis, 2007)
  
• All reported some degree of MH symptoms
• Unable to effectively parent worry about leaving
  child alone with veteran
  
• Veteran not wanting to assume any responsibility
• Rely on extended family for childcare
• Constant attempts to predict mood of veteran
• Contemplated divorce living with a stranger
• Lack of sexual intimacy

13
Vignette

• During that first year, I was afraid to leave
  him home with her, because the two or three times
  that I did, he was either in the emergency room
  with her or he wasnt paying attention and she
  fell down the stairs. I shouldnt feel that way.
  And now she sees it. And she sees stuff and she
  is like, I dont want daddy around. When he is
  home with her, he will sit here and watch TV and
  wont pay attention to her. And it is sad when
  she is in front of him and says Daddy, hello? I
  hate to compare him to other people, but I see
  all the other dads out there with their kids
  playing and he is in here watching TV She knows
  more about what is going on than he does. She
  will tell him, Daddy, I need to eat. Daddy, I
  need to go to bed. It is a bad situation.
• Also hard for father who left when child was 6
  mos, ret when she was 2
  

14
Needs Proposed by Participants

• Spontaneously offered responses
• Increased social supports for both spouses and
  children during deployment
  
• Family supports following returnespecially for
  families of veterans with PTSDgeneral guidance
  around reintegration process
  
• FRGs to continue after soldiers return
• Psycho-education regarding signs and symptoms of
  PTSD for families and soldiers
  
• Information about services available and how to
  access these services
  

15
Needs Proposed by Participants (contd)

• Military assessing mental and physical health
  problems more appropriately
  
• Participants reported concern over assessing MH
  problems immediately upon return (stigma,
  excitement of reunion)
  
• Employee Assistance Programs

16
Positive Outcomes

• Majority of participants reported increased
  appreciation of family and new perspective on
  life
  
• Personal growth
• Growth as a couple
• Closer as family unit
• Improved communication
• Trauma can provide opportunity for growth and
  resiliency (Walsh, 2007)
  

17
Clinical Implications

• More services for families (making FRGs more
  accessible by alternating times, locations, MH
  professionals available support groups for
  families of veterans with PTSD)
• Better screening for MH problems (mandated
  screenings at three month intervals in person
  interview)
  
• Psycho-education weekends for families (increase
  camaraderie educate mental health issues)
  
• Support groups for children information
  dispersed to teachers, doctors in civilian
  community
  
• Educating MH professionals to ask about military
  service in the family