(Loss of) the super soldier: combat-injuries, body image and veterans’ romantic relationships
Abstract: Purpose: Some military personnel sustain physical injuries that alter their appearance, such as limb-loss and scarring. Veterans injured this way may experience body image distress and mental and physical wellbeing difficulties. While research with civilians indicates those with appearance-altering conditions may experience relationship difficulties, this issue remained unexplored among combat-injured veterans. This study aimed to understand how veterans who sustained appearance-altering combat injuries experienced and understood their changed appearance within the context of their romantic relationships. Materials and method: Semi-structured interviews with four male UK combat-injured veterans were conducted and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results: Three superordinate themes were generated: (loss of) the super solider; new states of vulnerability; and injury tests relationships. Conclusions: Masculinity was central to participants’ military identity and represented by their military bodies. Following injury and the loss of their military body, some experienced relationship challenges including a test to the foundations and commitment of their relationships. In contrast, some veterans’ relationships grew stronger, especially among participants who described dyadic coping. Additional challenges were related to decreased self-confidence, appearance concerns, and sex and intimacy. Implications for the provision of relationship support for combat-injured veterans and their partners through the long-term trajectory of rehabilitation are discussed.
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.