SOCIAL SUPPORT AS MODERATOR OF STRESS

Social Support as Moderator of Stress: Coping Strategies Among Texas National Guard Spouses



Social Support as Moderator of Stress: Coping Strategies Among Texas

Introduction

The Texas soldiers' behavior was rooted in a culture of white male independence, self-mastery, and a free man's dominion over himself, his capacities, and his dependents, an ethos that persisted in the slave-holding South long after it had weakened elsewhere in the country. When the Texas soldiers grumbled or protested against some abuse, real or imagined, they often did so as a group, acting in a collective capacity. For instance, the Fourth Texas acted as a group when ridding itself of Colonel Allen. The officers of the regiment lodged a formal protest, while the enlisted men ran him out of camp "amid the hoots and jeers of the boys." The common soldiers of the Fifth Texas had utilized similar tactics when they subjected Colonel Shaller to a shaming ritual that effectively ended his brief command of that regiment.

Review Literature

The marital relationship is characterized by both stability and normative transitions over time. While some stressful life events may strain the relationship and lead to temporary changes in its. structure, other more extreme crises may result in severe and permanent deviations from normal lines of development. Chronic illness or psychological disorder in one partner, for instance, may constitute a major threat to the marital relationship and may lead to a disruption in family functioning (Krausz, 1988).

Disturbance and dysfunction in marital relations have been observed in relation to a variety of physical and emotional disorders, including depression (Bullock, Siegel, Weissman, & Paykel, 1972; Hinchliffe, Vaughan, Hooper, & Roberts, 1977; Weissman, 1972), renal dysfunction (Soskolni, 1980), coronary disorders (Walfish & Kacen, 1980), brain damage, stroke, psychoses, and physical disability.

One type of psychopathology that may have a significant impact on marital relations is the combat stress reaction (CSR)--a psychological breakdown during the war. Our prior investigations indicate that although CSR is; by definition, an acute reaction, veterans do not necessarily recover once they return home. In a large proportion of cases, CSR may crystallize after war into chronic posttraumatic stress disorder, and even when the full PTSD syndrome does not develop, there may be other stress residues, in the form of partial PTSD, and other types of psychiatric, somatic (Solomon, 1988), and social impairment.

Research objectives

The vision of National Family Program is to enhance quality of life for National Guard members, their families, and the communities in which they live.

The mission of National Guard Family Program is to establish and facilitate ongoing communication, involvement, support and recognition between National Guard families and the National Guard in a partnership that promotes the best in both.

1). Do primary stressors have an affect on marital sexual satisfaction?

Psychologically, stress has been related to sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, hyperalertness and mood disturbance (Baum, Singer, & Baum, 1981), It is thus not surprising that clinicians have frequently reported that major life stressors are common in patients presenting sexual dysfunction noted that sexual dysfunction may ...