Psychs
study stress on ADF
By
Pte John Wellfare
Defence families are more likely to experience marital problems
than civilian families, according to ADF pyschologists and support
staff.
The
reports, published in The Management of Stress in the Australian
Defence Force, issued last year, cover research conducted
within the past 10 years.
They
highlight the additional stress military members face in the day-to-day
conduct of their duties and shows that a number of service personnel
are already statistically more vulnerable to marriage break-ups
prior to joining the military.
One
of the reports by Maj Anne Goyne, Psych Spt, quotes statistics
gained from interviews with 13,232 male applicants for enlistment
into the Army from 1994 –1996.
The
report shows 41 per cent of male applicants coming from separated
families and 25 per cent of those reporting conflict between themselves
and their parents.
Maj
Goyne also refers to statistics showing that children from separated
families are more likely to have troubled relationships themselves,
particularly when there is conflict between the child and parent.
“Children
in separated families tend to perform less well academically,
have more behavioural problems, display greater psychological
distress, have less secure romantic attachments and have a higher
frequency of premarital pregnancy than children in intact homes,”
she said.
Another
report by Dayle Foreman, previously with DCO, discusses the impact
of military service on family life, particularly the requirement
for service personnel to spend long periods away from home.
“Military
spouses rank military induced family separation as their major
dissatisfaction with military life.
“Wives
usually serve as the focus of separation in that separations are
unwanted, untimely, create loneliness, financial vulnerability
and difficulty managing children.”
The
reports stress the need for service personnel with families to
make use of all support mechanisms available to assist in maintaining
a good home life as well as a productive work environment.
“Even
when families cope well with separations, it is still a stressful
experience and requires some adjustment.
“The
need to assist in the provision of family stability during service
separations is vitally important if we are to retain our members.”
