UK Military Personnel and their Romantic Relationships: The Impact of the Recent Conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan
This thesis examines the UK military and their romantic relationships, in the context of recent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. A mixed methods approach is used and the thesis separated into two sections. The quantitative section comprises four studies examining: the distribution of relationship status, a comparison with the general population of England and Wales; the prevalence of relationship difficulties and associations with socio-demographic, military, and deployment-related experiences; and possible mediation effects of mental health symptoms and alcohol misuse on relationship difficulties. The qualitative section includes a study giving a deep experiential understanding of how UK military personnel manage their romantic relationships in the context of their military careers. Quantitative data came from the second phase of a longitudinal cohort study of UK military personnel, collected via a postal survey questionnaire (n= 9984). The sample for the qualitative study was drawn from this cohort study and included in-depth interviews with six male married Army personnel purposively selected for the study. Key findings from this thesis indicate that childhood adversity and being in unmarried relationships are the main factors associated with relationship difficulties. Resiliency in the relationships of UK military personnel can be enhanced with support from and for spouses, financial security, and having a securely attached relationship. Recommendations for future research and implications for policy and interventions are discussed.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations