Military-Connected Spouse Abuse Survivor Narratives: A Qualitative Interpretative Meta-Synthesis

Overview: The first international study of military-connected spouse abuse survivors, this study synthesized narratives of 45 survivors in US and UK. We identified one overarching theme and three sub-themes, encapsulated by one participant: “Do the good little robot wife – keep your mouth shut, do what you’re told, or there’s consequences.”Proposal text:

Background: Approximately 39,000 military wives per year experience physical violence, rape or stalking by an intimate partner (Black & Merrick, 2013). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that this rate is similar to the rate at which women married to civilians experience intimate partner violence. However, military spouses who are not themselves Service Members have unique protective and risk factors when compared to their civilian peers or uniformed spouses. This qualitative interpretative meta-synthesis magnifies the voices of military-connected spouse abuse (MCSA) survivors and explores their identity conceptions.


Method: This literature synthesis employed the bioecological model to contextualize the narratives of MCSA survivors. We employed systematic sampling of both gray and academic literature, ultimately excluding gray literature sources because MCSA survivors were identified. Both investigators read extracted relevant quotes, bracketed personal experience as necessary, and coded quotations into proxies of the bioecological model: individual (survivor), micro (spouse, family), meso (civilian systems), exo (military systems that exerted indirect influence on survivor), macro (national ideals).
Findings: MCSA survivors’ narratives about their identities reflected one major theme and three supporting themes, characterized by an in vivo quotation by a MCSA survivor from the US: “Do the good little robot wife” was the overarching theme, in which MCSA survivors distanced themselves from their own identities by using their relationship to the government as the salient feature of identity. The theme of “Keep your mouth shut” conflated their silence with identity maintenance and responsibility. The theme of “Do what you’re told” elucidated the implicit and expectations inherent to their identities. Expectations originated from military officials, service members, and social narratives. Finally, the theme of “Or there’s consequences” encompassed the risk of losing value of a wife or a person, which was perceived as a significant identity threat.
Presentation: The presenters will spend ¼ of their time identifying the unique risks and protective factors of military wives in the context of military-connected spouse abuse, to include reasons for limiting this study to civilian cis female spouses of active duty cis men; ½ of their time exploring the themes and providing specific, supporting quotations; and ¼ of their time identifying implications for practice with military-populations.