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This study investigates the process of resilience from the perspective of military wives
during deployment . The study had two main goals : 1 ) to further understand the
deployment experience , as it is lived personally and within the family , and 2 ) to develop
a theory -based resilience model , guided by family stress and resilience theory ,
highlighting the role of communication within the family resilience process . According to
the FAAR Model (Patterson , 1988 ; 2002 ) , resilience involves three components :
meanings , demands , and capabilities . Based on the goals of the study and the three main
components of resilience , five broad research questions guided the study : How do
military spouses perceive , interpret , and make meaning of their experience with spousal
deployment ? How do spouses cope with the spousal deployment experience ? How do
spouses perceive the family deployment and coping experience ? What supportive resources and responses are most helpful for military spouses during spousal deployment ,
and why ? And what supportive resources and responses are most unhelpful for military
spouses during spousal deployment , and why ? The data are also viewed through a lens of
ambiguous loss theory (Boss , 1999 ; 2004 ; 2006 ; 2007 ) , as deployment is a stressful
situation that incorporates uncertainty , loss , and a presence -absence paradox for spouses
and families . To investigate these questions and develop these theories , in -depth
interviews were conducted with 26 military wives who were currently experiencing
deployment . The results illustrate various aspects of women’s perceptions of their
deployment experiences , including how they make sense of these experiences . Women
did not only discuss their own personal experiences ; they also reported experiences at
relational and family levels . Paralleling these tri -level perceptions of the experience ,
women’s approaches to coping also occurred at individual , relational , and family levels .
Different coping strategies within each level are outlined and discussed . Finally ,
women’s perceptions and evaluations of the responses they receive from others , both
supportive and unsupportive , are reported and discussed . Based on the results , a
transactional model of family resilience , highlighting the central role of communication ,
is proposed . Implications for theory (e .g . , stress and resilience theories , ambiguous loss
theory ) and practice are discussed . Future directions for research are explored . |
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