War Widows Knock on the Door: An Exploratory Study of the Experiences of Bereaved Military Families
Abstract: This report is about the experiences of bereaved military families in the UK and the impact of their loss. For a member of the Armed Forces there is an increased risk of being exposed to serious and unsafe situations that may result in an untimely death. The ‘Joint Casualty and Compassion Policy and Procedures Vol 2’ published by the Ministry of Defence outlines policies and procedures relating to death in military service, including the process of casualty notification, funeral arrangements and the roles of the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, Casualty Notifying Officer and Visiting Officer. Nevertheless, there currently exists little research on the impact of a sudden loss on the families that are left behind and the War Widows Association (WWA) identified a need for an investigation into how bereaved military families are notified and subsequently cared for. The aim of this study was to explore and understand the impact that death, whilst in military service, has on the surviving family. Specifically, it focused on how casualty notification was undertaken and the impact that the current process had on the long-term wellbeing of the family.
Abstract: U.S. Air Force remotely piloted aircraft (USAF RPA) personnel face diverse stressors negatively affecting psychological health and military readiness. Prior research in diverse populations supports predictable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on occupational stressors, burnout, and more distal outcomes. Extending earlier studies linking broad variables (e.g., COVID-19 threat → work stress → burnout), the current study tests and refines an expanded mediation model based on multiple distinct pandemic concerns, occupational stressors, and burnout facets as antecedents of psychological distress mid-pandemic in RPA personnel (N = 496). Differential representation of demands, resources, and rewards evident across distinct occupational stressors in light of job demands/resources theory guided specification of mediated pathways. SEM analysis yielded moderate fit. Following removal of non-significant paths and addition of two interpretable direct paths, fit was improved, yielding seven dominant pandemic concern → occupational stressor → burnout → psychological distress pathways. In support of domain specification, five 'hub' variables (pandemic-driven change, personal stressors, workload, leader communication, and exhaustion) emerged as key intervention targets in mitigating distress in the USAF RPA community and similar populations during future pandemic-related crises.