What is Relational Stress?
Relationship stress occurs when there are problems between partners that affect their well-being, including interpersonal conflict, relationship instability, and financial strain. Deployment conditions, such as being away from home for extended periods, can exacerbate these stresses.
Social Support
Social support refers to emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support provided by family members, friends, colleagues, and others during times of need. It helps reduce relational stress by providing comfort, assistance, advice, validation, and problem-solving strategies.
Mediating Role
Social support has been shown to mediate the effects of deployment conditions on relational stress. When deployed service members experience high levels of social support from their partner, they tend to perceive less relational stress despite being apart from them. This may be because they feel supported emotionally and have access to resources needed to cope with separation anxiety.
Types of Support
There are several types of social support that can be provided in response to deployment conditions. Emotional support includes expressing love, affection, sympathy, understanding, and encouragement. Instrumental support includes practical help, such as childcare or household tasks. Informational support involves sharing information about military life and deployment experiences. Appraisal support involves validation and affirmation of feelings and thoughts related to deployment.
Differences Between Men and Women
Men and women may differ in how they seek and receive social support during deployment. Men tend to rely more heavily on instrumental support, while women prefer emotional support.
Men may view seeking social support as a sign of weakness or vulnerability, which can limit their willingness to ask for it.
Importance of Communication
Effective communication is crucial for maintaining strong relationships under deployment conditions. Service members should keep open lines of communication with their partners and discuss any concerns or needs they may have. Partners can also provide social support by actively listening, validating feelings, and offering reassurance.
Social support plays an important role in mediating relational stress under deployment conditions. It provides comfort, assistance, advice, validation, and problem-solving strategies that help reduce tension and promote healthy relationships.
Gender differences in social support preferences and the perceived stigma associated with seeking support can make this difficult for some service members. Effective communication and support from family and friends can mitigate these challenges and help maintain strong bonds despite physical separation.
What role does social support play in mediating relational stress under deployment conditions?
The study explores the impact of deployment on the lives of soldiers and their families by focusing on the role that social support plays in mitigating relational stress during military separation. The researchers found that family members experience significant distress when a soldier is deployed because they are separated from them for an extended period of time, causing loneliness and isolation. This distress can also result in negative effects on parenting skills and children's development.