Impact of Work Induced Separation on the Psychological Well-Being of Spouses of Military Personnel.

Abstract

With the inception of insurgency in 2009, a large number of soldiers were deployed to the North Eastern part of Nigeria. While these deployments were necessary part of military service, separation from spouses brings about changes within the family structure and adds to the existing stress of raising a family. Consequently, these military personnel and their spouses suffer numerous psychological problems as well as disruption in contribution to household and marital responsibilities. This is a qualitative study with semi-structured interview conducted among 20 spouses of military personnel in two army barracks within Lagos state. Participants revealed that they have various ways with which they maintain relationship with their spouses during work-induced separation. Some of the participants agree that separation has both beneficial and harmful consequences on their relationships, but they handle it through frequent communication, trusting each other despite the separation, frequent visitation and sharing marital goals. The study also revealed that there are several factors that result from separation due to the military job; while all of the factors directly predict military personnel spouses’ psychological well-being, some of the factors that moderate the relationship between them include; frequency of communication. These findings provide insight into the nature of military service, its relationship to psychological well-being of spouses and the impact of work-induced separation. Recommendations focused on the areas where resources can be made available for military spouses to overcome the increased stressors present during separations caused by military job induced separation.