Deployment Psychology Blog

During my 20+ years working in the mental health field, I have worked with multiple military-connected couples. Often, the entry point for couples’ work was a spouse who had been given an ultimatum about working on resolving marital conflict or face separation/divorce. In one study by Pflieger et al. (2018), researchers found that while military couples face additional stressors, the majority of marital dissatisfaction can be explained by stressors not unique to the military service. In my work with couples, I found this to be true. While many of the stressors may have surfaced during their military service (i.e., conflict regarding parental responsibilities during the deployment cycle), the stressors themselves are also found in civilian couples

Repeatedly on the news and in academic journals, I’ve been seeing reports about and concerns regarding rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) as our world is dealing with the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the CDC (2021), intimate partner violence is defined as “physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse. This type of violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples and does not require sexual intimacy.” This blog will examine the dynamics present when men perpetrate intimate partner violence toward their female partners during a pandemic.