Military fathers' perspectives on involvement.

Abstract

Military fathers endure repeated separations from their children. In this qualitative study we describe military fathers' range of involvement with their children, paying special attention to the implications of deployment separation and reintegration. We discuss father involvement using three overlapping major domains of functioning: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. Additionally, we consider how types of father involvement differ vis-à-vis child age. Data were gathered via focus groups conducted with 71 fathers at 14 U.S. military installations. Descriptions of involvement were rich and varied. Involvement with children was a major concern for fathers, despite or perhaps because of the challenges of military careers. We discuss factors that help explain variations in involvement and offer insights about the conceptualization of father involvement for occupations requiring prolonged absences from home.

Toward a Resource Theory of Fathering

“…In addition, the literature on situated fathers (Marsiglio, Roy, & Fox, 2005), the resources associated with rural versus urban residence (e.g., Coleman, Ganong, Clark, & Madsen, 1989), and military fathers (e.g., Willerton, Schwarz, Wadsworth, & Oglesby, 2011) represent substantively integrative ties with a resource framework.…”

Impact of deployment on military families with young children: A systematic review

“…For example, Barker and Berry (2009) instructed parents to recall their children's behavior "before deployment," although the length of time preceding deployment was not specified in their instructions (in contrast, the comparison group of nondeployed families was asked to recall the prior 3 months). Other studies examined the postdeployment phase, periods referred to as "reunion" (Barker & Berry, 2009), "reintegration" (Louie & Cromer, 2014;Willerton et al, 2011), and "reunification" (Flake et al, 2009;Walsh et al, 2014). However, with the exception of Gewirtz et al (2010) who included a time frame of 1 year after deployment, "postdeployment period" was not operationalized.…”

“…None focused on veteran households, although one study did include responses from retirees (Kelley et al, 2006). Six study samples recruited only the military service member of the family Gewirtz et al, 2010;Lee et al, 2013;Scannell-Desch & Doherty, 2013;Walsh et al, 2014;Willerton et al, 2011). With the exception of one qualitative study of 20 military nurses, 75% of whom were women (ScannellDesch & Doherty, 2013), the respondents in these studies were men.…”

“…Six studies examined service members' parenting concerns associated with their deployment Lee et al, 2013;Louie & Cromer, 2014;Scannell-Desch & Doherty, 2013;Walsh et al, 2014;Willerton et al, 2011). Several described parents' fears that their children would forget them while deployed, their distress when children worried for their safety, and apprehension about childcare arrangements during deployment (Everson et al, 2013;Scannell-Desch & Doherty, 2013;Willerton et al, 2011).…”

Boundary Ambiguity and Ambivalence in Military Family Reintegration

“…Children may struggle with loyalty conflicts (Pincus et al, 2001), figuring out what the rules are within the family (Patterson & Garwick, 1994), not feeling respected by the service member parent (Willerton, Schwarz, MacDermid Wadsworth, & Oglesby, 2011), or even being afraid of him or her due to how he or she has been changed by deployment experiences (Sayers et al, 2009). Internalizing or externalizing disorders may appear in these youth, as well as disruptions in family or peer relationships and academic maladjustment (Card et al, 2011;Chandra, L. Martin, et al, 2010).…”