THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF MOTHERS OF SOLDIERS DEPLOYED TO A WAR ZONE
Abstract
Since the events of September 11, 2001 and the declaration of the "Global War
on Terrorism" began our U.S. military forces have significantly increased military
deployments. Military-induced separations can be very stressful to family members.
The stress of frequent and long deployments can present as symptoms of depression,
anxiety, and multiple somatic complaints. Most of the studies that have been done have
been in the area of marital and child relationships. There have been no studies
examining the experience of deployment from a mother's perspective. The purpose of
this study was to examine the lived experience of being the mother of a soldier deployed
to a war zone, how they coped, and how advanced practice nurses can help.
Spiegelberg's philosophy of phenomenology was the framework used for this
study. A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological approach was used. A convenience
and purposive sample of nine women who met the criteria for sample selection were
solicited for the study. Data were collected via interviews using a demographic
questionnaire and an open-ended questionnaire. The interviews were audio taped and
transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological method.
Three themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) waiting and watching, (b) always on
my mind, and (c) mother's intuition/the mom version. In addition, the analysis revealed
that faith, family, and friends were the main coping mechanisms.
Conclusions indicated that deployment of soldiers to a war zone does affect the
mother, even if they no longer live in the same household. This can present itself in
sleep disturbances, mood changes, depression, worry, and fear. Recommendations for
practice include the importance of recognizing individual experiences and education on
coping mechanisms, as well as resources available for these mothers. Some
recommendations for further research, include exploring the resolution of stress in
mothers after the return of the soldier and whether there are any lasting effects.
Subject
Solidiers Family relationships
Families of military personnel
United States Armed Forces Foreign service
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/46746Description
A Clinical Paper Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science in Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner