Soldiers' Attachment Styles and Military Life
Military service is an intense experience that demands sacrifice, commitment, and emotional labor from individuals who have been trained to face dangerous situations while working as part of a team. As such, it can be difficult for some soldiers to adapt to this environment if they have difficulty forming strong bonds with others. This article explores how different attachment styles may impact a soldier's ability to thrive in military life.
Attachment theory explains how people interact and form bonds with others. Researchers have identified four main attachment styles: secure, anxious-preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, and fearful-avoidant. Securely attached individuals feel comfortable expressing their needs and trusting others to meet them; those with anxious-preoccupied attachments worry about being abandoned or rejected; dismissive-avoidants are often emotionally unavailable and resistant to intimacy; and fearfully avoidant individuals struggle to form close relationships due to trauma.
In military settings, where individuals must rely on each other to survive, these attachment styles can play out differently.
Someone with a secure attachment style may find it easier to build trust and communication within a squad than someone with a fearfully avoidant attachment style. They might also feel less threatened by change or uncertainty compared to someone with an anxious-preoccupied attachment. On the other hand, a person with a dismissive-avoidant attachment style might not seek support when they need it and may struggle to develop meaningful relationships.
Even those with secure attachment styles can experience challenges in military life. The demands of combat, long deployments, and the lack of civilian resources can all strain relationships and make it harder for soldiers to form deep connections.
Some soldiers may be hesitant to open up and ask for help because of stigma surrounding mental health concerns.
To adapt to this environment, individuals with different attachment styles should learn techniques that allow them to connect more effectively with others.
Those with anxious-preoccupied attachments may benefit from therapy to address anxiety and rejection sensitivity while those with dismissive-avoidant attachments could work on becoming more emotionally available. Securely attached soldiers can use communication skills and assertiveness training to build stronger bonds with their teammates.
Understanding how attachment styles impact military service can help soldiers thrive in this unique setting. By recognizing their own attachment style and practicing strategies to improve relationship building, individuals can enhance their performance and resilience in the face of adversity.
How do soldiers' pre-existing attachment styles influence their adaptation to the interpersonal realities of military life?
The research on the impact of attachment style on soldiers' psychological well-being in military settings has increased recently due to the need for understanding the factors that may predict successful adjustment to military life (Haugen & Wade, 2017). Attachment theory suggests that an individual's early experiences with caregivers can shape their relationships later in life, including those in the military context (Bowlby, 1988; Fraley et al.