‘It’s nice to just be you’: The influence of the employment experiences of UK military spouses during accompanied postings on well-being

Rachael Jennifer Gribble; Laura Goodwin; Sian Oram; Nicola Townsend Fear

doi:10.1177/2055102919838909

‘It’s nice to just be you’: The influence of the employment experiences of UK military spouses during accompanied postings on well-being

Rachael Jennifer Gribble, Laura Goodwin, Sian Oram, Nicola Townsend Fear

University of Liverpool

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

214 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Repeated military relocations (accompanied postings) can have a detrimental effect on employment and well-being among the spouses and partners of military personnel. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 19 spouses of British Army/Royal Air Force personnel with recent experience of accompanied postings to explore this issue through the lens of self-determination theory; all were married women with at least one child. Participants explained how employment contributed to an independent identity, enabling social connectedness, providing a sense of self-confidence and value but limiting agency over employment decisions. Spouse employment, and therefore, well-being could be improved by the provision of better childcare access or additional support in finding employment and training opportunities.

Original language	English
Journal	Health Psychology Open
Volume	6
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102919838909
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 1 Apr 2019

Keywords

health and well-being
military spouses
occupational health
qualitative methods
women’s employment
Military partners

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10.1177/2055102919838909Licence: CC BY

It’s nice to just be you_GRIBBLE_Firstonline1April2019_GOLD VoRFinal published version, 226 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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‘It’s nice to just be you’: The influence of the employment experiences of UK military spouses during accompanied postings on well-being

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