Abstract
Military work, especially operational deployments, may impact the romantic relationships of military personnel. Using a subsample of 7,581 participants from a cohort study of U.K. military personnel (data collected between 2007 and 2009), the prevalence of relationship difficulties and associations with sociodemographic, military-, and deployment-related characteristics was examined. Most participants did not report experiencing relationship difficulties. Adjusted regression analyses indicate that childhood adversity, limited support for and from partners, being in unmarried relationships, financial problems, deploying for more than 13 months in 3 years, and work being above trade, ability, and experience were key factors associated with relationship difficulties. The likelihood of U.K. military personnel experiencing relationship difficulties is increased because of personal vulnerabilities that may be exacerbated in the military context.
Highlights
Military work, especially operational deployments, may impact the romantic relationships of military personnel
The romantic relationships of UK military require investigation. The aims of this explorative research were in two stages 1) to examine the prevalence of relationship difficulties experienced among UK military personnel and investigate potential socio-demographics and military characteristics associated with relationship difficulties in a sample of UK military personnel regardless of if they had or had not deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan; and 2) to investigate potential deployment-related experiences associated with relationship difficulties in a sub-sample of UK military personnel who had deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan
Examination of associations between this variable and possible socio-demographics and military characteristics provided adjusted ORs showing that reporting relationship or family problems as a result of most recent deployment was associated with childhood family relationship adversity, childhood antisocial behaviour, and deploying for more than 13 months in a three year period
Summary
Especially operational deployments, may impact the romantic relationships of military personnel. Military service places demands on personnel that have the potential to affect their romantic relationships such as frequent relocations, sometimes to different countries, long working hours, time away from home for training, and operational deployments (which may place military personnel at risk of injury or death),. These demands often happen concurrently and are not optional or negotiable (Dandeker, French, Birtles, & Wessely, 2006; Jarvis, 2011; Segal, 1986). This means no more than two six month deployments in this time with one years’ rest in between. Rona et al (2007) investigated the effect of prolonged cumulative deployment and found that breaching harmony guidelines was associated with problematic alcohol use, psychological symptoms and reporting problems at home both during and following deployment
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