In the military setting, soldiers are required to live together under close quarters for prolonged periods of time, which can have an impact on their emotional and sexual intimacy when they return home to their partners. This paper explores how communal living environments affect military couples' intimacy levels and discusses ways to improve them.
Communal Living Environments
Soldiers often spend months away from their families, working long hours in cramped spaces with minimal privacy. They share rooms with other people who may be strangers, leading to discomfort and distrust between them. This is further complicated by the stress of combat and physical exhaustion. These conditions make it difficult for soldiers to maintain strong emotional bonds outside of their unit, leading to a lack of empathy and understanding among comrades-in-arms.
Intimacy Levels
The lack of privacy and familiarity in communal living situations leads to soldiers forming stronger attachments within their units than with their spouses or significant others back home. This results in lower emotional intimacy levels between military couples upon returning home. The distance created during deployment also makes it harder to connect romantically with one another, leading to less satisfying sex lives for both partners.
The shared experiences that formed tight bonds between fellow soldiers make it more difficult for them to relate to civilian life after service ends, making it challenging for them to reconnect with family members.
Ways to Improve Intimacy Levels
Military couples should engage in activities together while stationed apart such as phone calls, video chats, and regular letters. They can also plan vacations or trips together when they get time off, allowing them to rekindle their relationship before going back into battle zones.
Setting aside time for intimate moments like cuddling or kissing can help strengthen emotional closeness even if they are not physically present at each other's side. By taking these steps, military couples can improve their intimacy levels despite being separated due to work demands or deployments.
Exposure to communal living environments has an adverse effect on military couples' emotional and sexual intimacy levels but is manageable through active effort by both parties involved. With proper communication, patience, and dedication, any couple can maintain a strong bond despite being away from each other for extended periods of time.
How does exposure to communal living environments influence emotional and sexual intimacy among military couples?
Communal living arrangements are known to have an impact on emotional and sexual intimacy among military couples as they promote closeness and sharing of space and time. In a study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, it was found that married couples who lived in close quarters with their fellow soldiers had better communication skills than those who did not live together.