Date of Award

5-2021

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Sapozhnikov-Levine, Brooklyn

Abstract

Military members who have experienced combat deployments are at a greater risk for mental health issues. This can often affect the families who are placed in the role of being a buffer for these returning military members. Furthermore, the prevalence of mental health issues within the military community being at an all-time high has created a parallel prevalence for the family members who are impacted by these military members dealing with mental health issues. This research project examined data and information that was collected both from individual military family members and from persons who directly provide supportive services to military members and their families. This data and information was used to help me understand their unique experiences and how they have been impacted by their involvement within the military community. It also helped me identify any displeasures they might have about supportive services being offered or not offered within the military specifically for military family members. The literature review portion of this paper focused on the impacts upon military family members from having a military member with their families, such as the development of stress and mental health issues, military family’s role confusion, and increased responsibility for non-deployed parents. The constructivism paradigm was utilized, and I gathered information from face-to-face interviews with six participants to further develop a qualitative analysis. The conducted analysis yielded six major themes within this study: 1) An increased level of stress relating to deployment; 2) Impacts on mental health; 3) Impacts on the family’s dynamic; 4) Increased responsibilities for the non-deployed parent; 5) Impacts on personal beliefs; and 6) Impacts on their support system. Based on the common themes found, an action plan was developed to assist with exposing some of the highlighted impacts placed upon military families.

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