ABSTRACT
Military families routinely experience separations as a result of frequent moves, hazardous duty, deployments, and exercises, which have potential impacts on the adjustment of both soldiers and the members of their families. Considering that the military and the family can be seen as a “greedy institution” (Coser, 1974; Segal, 1986), requiring enormous commitment and loyalty from its members, possible conflicts between both have been identified as a major challenge to the effectiveness of military organizations. Here, as in other similar situations, social support is considered to have a positive impact on people’s ability to cope with the stress of separation, and to develop emotional well-being in the face of uncertainty and change (Andres, Moelker, and Soeters, 2008). Although the structure of social support networks varies (Moelker and van der Kloet, 2003), military organizations have, in many cases, provided services and designed policies to promote positive adjustments and family well-being during the period of separation (Copeland and Norell, 2002; Orthner and Rose, 2005). This chapter addresses the reasons why this has not happened in the Portuguese case.
