Narrative Analysis of Parental Role Duality of Filipino Military Wives

ABSTRACT

Parental role duality is common among military wives experiencing deployment of husbands. Utilizing a narrative approach, our goal was to examine how they organized their identities as they adopted the paternal role. Four themes were identified from interviews with eleven military wives. These illustrated a transition from exhibiting reliance on husbands toward embodying independence and uncovering strength. As military wives encountered numerous challenges, they had displayed a unique response mechanism – prioritizing their motherhood. Consequently, they were confident in facing future deployments to come. Notably, faith was a significant factor for the wives’ resiliency.

KEYWORDS:

• Parental role duality
• military wives
• self-organization
• identity formation

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by our associates from Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Philippines, who provided the effort and aid that greatly assisted the research. We specifically thank Retired Military General Jaime Delos Santos for his endorsement, facilitating the accomplishment of our study. We also thank Hon. Gregory R. Tolentino, Barangay Captain of Camp Aguinaldo, for his kind approval, allowing us to conduct our study within their barangay premises. We appreciate Ms Pinky M. Encapas for her assistance in our entire interview process. Furthermore, we acknowledge the participation of our interviewees, who without which this research would not have been made possible.

We are grateful for Ateneo de Manila University for providing us the opportunity to conduct our research project. For Dr Emerald Jay Ilac, our undergraduate thesis adviser who provided his insights and expertise, we thank him for his generous supervision throughout the making and revisions of the manuscript. Finally, we sincerely thank our parents and families for giving their full support in our research endeavor.

Declaration of interest

The authors certify that there are no known affiliations with or involvement with any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest that could have appeared to influence the subject matter discussed in the manuscript. Furthermore, we confirm that this manuscript is original, has not been published before and is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere.