Leisure Experiences of Military Couples Postdeployment

Abstract

Objective This qualitative study was designed to explore how leisure is experienced by military couples postdeployment and the extent to which couples use leisure to cope with deployment or promote reintegration. Background To date, many studies have investigated how deployment affects relationship quality and stability. There is a dearth of literature on the leisure experiences of combat veterans and their spouses. Studying couples' leisure experiences may illuminate underlying processes that can explain couple relationship quality postdeployment. Method Ten combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) and their spouses/partners participated in separate in‐depth, face‐to‐face interviews about their perceptions of leisure and relationship experiences postdeployment. Results Four themes emerged: (a) deployment changes veterans and couples' leisure, (b) spouses support leisure and reintegration postdeployment, (c) leisure provides insight into military and deployment experiences, and (d) deployment helps couples cultivate appreciation. Conclusion This study provides evidence that everyday couple leisure experiences (e.g., watching movies, doing home projects) may be integral in fostering reintegration postdeployment. Implications Practitioners are encouraged to educate military couples about the potential of free or inexpensive leisure experiences to promote reintegration by providing daily opportunities for positive interactions and creating contexts to share enjoyable moments.

Relationship maintenance among military couples

“…Although our review artificially divided the literature by relationship maintenance activity, qualitative findings make it clear that overlapping activities are more likely. For instance, communicating to stay connected across the deployment cycle shares close ties with disclosure and protective buffering (Marini et al, 2016; Messecar, 2017; Nelson Goff et al, 2014), and dyadic coping shares close ties with supporting a partner, caregiving, and accommodating a partner’s symptoms (Chandler et al, 2018; Karakurt et al, 2013; Rossetto, 2013). A second cross-cutting theme involves the degree of effort required by various relationship maintenance activities.…”

“…A second cross-cutting theme involves the degree of effort required by various relationship maintenance activities. Whereas some relationship maintenance activities may involve considerable work and exertion, such as protective buffering (Carter, Renshaw, Allen, et al, 2020; Carter, Renshaw, Curby, et al, 2020), caregiving (Thandi et al, 2016), and accommodating a partner’s symptoms (Renshaw et al, 2020), other relationship maintenance activities may be less laborious and more enjoyable, such as upbeat conversations (Maguire et al, 2013; Merolla, 2010), joint leisure pursuits (Chandler et al, 2018), and quality time together (Melvin et al, 2015). A third cross-cutting theme that stands out in our narrative synthesis deals with the paradoxes and dilemmas of relationship maintenance, which occur when military couples are caught between potentially competing desires, meanings, and outcomes (e.g., Peck & Sahlstein Parcell, 2021; Wilson et al, 2015).…”

Reintegration of crisis services employees: a systematic literature review

“…For example, employees can experience physically exhaustion (Bowling and Sherman, 2008;Fahim et al, 2014) or compassion fatigue (Makinen et al, 2015), that is, the fatigue of helping others. However, physical exercise in the form of leisure can have beneficial effects on the reintegration process by improving their well-being, re-finding their identity, diverting their attention, relieving stress (Chandler et al, 2018;Dattilo, 2015;Miller and Warner, 2013;Taff et al, 2016).…”

Krigens betydning for parforholdet – hvordan veteraners efterreaktioner på udsendelse udfordrer intimitet og kommunikation blandt militære par

“…Når soldater i parforhold udsendes til en vaebnet konflikt, er det ikke blot selve adskillelsen og risikoen ved udsendelsen, der kan belaste forholdet, men også overgangen ("transitionen") til dagligdagen og hjemmemiljøet kan vaere udfordrende. Perioden efter udsendelsen, hvor soldaten skal reintegreres i en faelles dagligdag, og hvor intimiteten med partneren skal genfindes, har vist sig at vaere vanskelig for begge parter (Chandler, Dattilo, Taff, & Moeller, 2018;Knobloch, Knobloch-Fedders, & Yorgason, 2019;Wen, Price, Spray, & Marmar, 2020). Dette bakkes op af det danske forsvars interviewundersøgelse med 74 kvindelige partnere til veteraner, der fandt, at partnerne generelt oplevede parforholdet som mere belastet et halvt år efter hjemkomsten end under udsendelsen (Andreasen, 2012).…”