This is a Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) award. The proposed research will examine how families were affected by the separation and subsequent reunion in connection with Operation Desert Shield. The investigators propose to use attachment theory to predict individual differences in patterns of reacting to the stresses of separation and in the ways of handling the experience of reunion. The investigators have secured access to the South Carolina National Guard and Reserve Units allowing them to examine systematically how deployment and subsequent reunion affects families. The research design includes a baseline survey completed during the period of separation as wells as two measurements during the reunion period. The investigators have completed the baseline survey of the spouses of 600 deployed and 290 non-deployed members of the National Guard and Reserve Unites. The follow up studies are planned to take place 2-4 weeks after re-union, and approximately 6 months after reunion. The proposed research provides a unique opportunity for examining the effects of war duty on the families that are left behind. In addition, the research promises to enhance our understanding of the ways in which different styles of attachment influence the ways in which men and women deal with the absence of their spouse and with the subsequent reunion.
