This work focuses on family processes that take place at different stages of peace-keeping missions. I research the adjustments within families with children that occur before, during, and after the mission, look into the main topics of their discussions, and identify coping mechanisms. In addition to that, I am interested in what challenges they encounter during the process and what elements they recognize as their supporting factors. Lastly, I investigate what family needs arise during the mission and use them to develop suggestions for supporting military families.
I conduct the empirical part of the thesis by interviewing six military members who had been on at least one peace-keeping mission. In three cases, partners of the interviewees are also part of the dialogue. I analyze the results with open and axial coding and link them to existing social work discipline and knowledge about military families.
Results suggest that beneficial measures include transparent conversations about mission preparations, family structure, one's own experiences, and reasons for undertaking the mission. It is also evident that there is a need for the whole-family inclusion in preparations preceding the mission and that a more individualistic approach is desired when collaborating with the military member and the family.
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