Evaluation of the Effects of Kenya Defence Forces Deployment on Psychosocial Well-Being of Their Families in Nairobi County
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Date
2019-05
Authors
Mauka, Moses Silali
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Military personnel worldwide Kenya included are engaged in long and protracted
operations in faraway places from home. During such deployments, physical
separation, poor communication, loneliness, confusion, uncertainty, temptation,
rumors, financial problems including risk of injury and death take place thereby
affecting the psychosocial well-being of families that are left at home. The purpose of
this study was to investigate the effect of Kenya Defense Forces military deployment
on the psychosocial wellbeing of their families during the absence of their spouses in
Nairobi City County. The study was guided by the specific objectives which sought
to: determine the effect of military deployment on psychological wellbeing of the
families; establish the effects of military deployment on social wellbeing of their
families; explore the effects of the deployment on academic performance of their
children; find out the coping mechanisms adopted by the families; and establish
possible measures to mitigate against negative effects of deployment on psychosocial
wellbeing of the families in Nairobi City County. The study was premised on Family
Stability Theory, as the theoretical underpinning. The study adopted a cross sectional
survey research design employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The
study targeted a population of 3000 families of military personnel deployed in conflict
and peace keeping missions around the world residing in Nairobi City County. The
study employed snowballing, stratified random, and convenience sampling to select
61 participants. Questionnaires was the main instrument of data collection for the
respondents. The quantitative data was edited, coded, classified on the basis of
similarity and then analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS)
version 22.0 software, whereas qualitative data was categorized thematically and
presented through narration. The findings were presented by way of frequency
distributions, percentages, means and standard deviation. The findings established that
the psychological wellbeing of the respondents was affected as shown by 82% were
overwhelmed by uncertainty feelings upon deployment of their spouses; 80.3% of the
respondents experienced social loneliness and sleepless nights; 70.5% had
deterioration of academic performance; as 50.8% service personnel resorted to
multitasking; and 83.6% proposed counseling as mitigating measures. Overall, the
study findings show that there was negative psychological effect with 93.4%. The
study concluded that military deployment has a negative effect on the psychological
wellbeing of the families left behind leading to prayers, counseling and other
measures to mitigate against negative effects of deployment of the military personnel.
The study recommended families be provided with regular counseling, financial
support, and communication between military personnel. The study suggested that
further exploratory study should be done to establish the influence of spirituality on
psychological wellbeing of families of deployed soldiers.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts (Counseling Psychology) of Kenyatta University