Australian military personnel perspectives on family, service, and deployment: An analysis of open-ended survey data

Abstract

LAY SUMMARYMost research on military family health has involved talking to spouses, but what do military personnel think? Personnel may identify different issues that have not had the attention of research on armed forces. This study used the “Any other comments?” question in a military family survey to get their thoughts. Australian Defence Force regular and reserve personnel who were in the army, navy, or air force completed the survey. There were 264 personnel who talked about families, and key issues and views were identified from their responses. These included the challenge of living away from families for service reasons and a feeling of “talk, not action” on work and family balance. Responses revealed that non-family-friendly practices affected the health of families. They also caused personnel to leave regular service or the military altogether. Armed forces should work to match practices with policies. This study also shows how open-ended-comment questions in surveys are useful for research and give military personnel a chance to have their say.Introduction: Qualitative research exploring the interplay among service, deployment, and family from the perspective of military personnel has focused on specific issues such as parenting. The literature on broader family topics is limited. The aim of this study was to address the research gap by analyzing responses to an open-ended question in a survey about health and family. Methods: Australian Defence Force personnel (N = 1,556) completed a survey in 2011–2012 that assessed their health and obtained their perceptions of the impact of service on their families. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on responses to a broad, open-ended question at the end of the survey. Results: Of the 502 (32%) participants who responded to the open-ended question, 264 (17%) provided a response that discussed the interplay between service and family or deployment and family. Living away from family for service reasons, heavy workloads, and non-family-friendly organizational practices were key issues that played a role in relationship breakdown and in personnel leaving military service or becoming reservists. Discussion: This study revealed several personnel concerns not previously explored in a military family survey that have implications for family well-being and service retention. Armed forces need to ensure that policies relating to work-family balance are enforced in practice by all leaders and across all sectors.