The Risk and Protective Factor in the Resilience Development of Indonesian Navy Soldier’s Wives

Abstract

One of the stressors for soldier's wife that potentially affect their mental health is the deployment or assignment of their husband for 3-12 months apart from his wife and children. Wives of soldiers must have resilience, the ability to survive or bounce back from the stresses of life. The aim of this study is to evaluate the risk and protective factor in the resilience development of Indonesian Navy soldier's wives during the deployment of husbands. This study used a qualitative case study approach. The respondents were 7 wives of Indonesian Navy soldiers whose husbands were on duty or had served for 3 months or more, and had been married for at least 1 year. The data interpretation technique used interpretative thematic analysis. The study results showed three sources of protective factors, including individual, family, and environmental character. The biggest risk factor was when the child become sick or the wives themselves is sick. The internal protective resilience factors including independence, sociability, humorous, skills, and work experience. The external protective resilience factor including social support, mainly from the family (parents or in-law).