Dual-military Parental Caregiver Behaviors and Attachment During a Maternal Deployment: A Multiple Case Stud

The aftermath of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 in the United States marked the beginning of a new era for women in the military. This has likely led to a significant impact on women in dual-military marriages. The current study investigates the impact that maternal deployment may have on the quality of parental caregiver behaviors toward their young children and also on parent-child attachment relationships in dual-military couples. In order to examine this phenomenon, an embedded, multiple case study was conducted, utilizing an attachment systems metatheory perspective. The participants included four dual-military couples who experienced a maternal deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) when they had at least one child between 8-weeks-old to 5-years-old. Each member of the couple participated in an individual, semi-structured interview with the researcher and completed the Parenting Relationship Questionnaire (PRQ). The results showed minimal impacts on the quality of the parental caregiver behaviors and parent-child attachment relationship, which dissipated after six months to two years post deployment. The strategies for maintaining a relationship with children during the maternal deployments were limited due to the young age of the children at the time of the deployment. None of the participants utilized military resources such as respite care, funds for participation in sports or activities, or any of the Army Community Services programs, and all reported preferring to rely on family, friends, and peers with shared experiences. Recommendations for future research are discussed, including: longitudinal, additional caregivers, and comparisons of simultaneous and non-simultaneous deployments.