Suspicion about a partner’s deception and trust as roots of relational uncertainty during the post-deployment transition

Leanne K. Knobloch; Lynne M. Knobloch-Fedders; Jeremy B. Yorgason; Erin D. Basinger; Bryan Abendschein; Kelly G. McAninch

doi:10.1177/0265407520970645

Suspicion about a partner’s deception and trust as roots of relational uncertainty during the post-deployment transition

Leanne K. Knobloch
, Lynne M. Knobloch-Fedders
, Jeremy B. Yorgason
, Erin D. Basinger
, Bryan Abendschein
, Kelly G. McAninch

Communication

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Relational uncertainty is both prominent and pivotal during the transition from deployment to reintegration. Most prior research has considered the outcomes rather than the origins of relational uncertainty, hampering the development of interventions for military couples. We theorize about two predictors of relational uncertainty during the post-deployment transition: suspicion about a partner’s deception and trust. Results of an 8-wave longitudinal study involving 287 U.S. military couples (N = 4,147 observations) revealed that relational uncertainty increased over the transition for both returning service members and at-home partners. Suspicion about a partner’s deception, and particularly trust, predicted the relational uncertainty of military couples at homecoming and over time. These findings advance knowledge about the roots of relational uncertainty and suggest ways to assist military couples upon reunion.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	912-934
Number of pages	23
Journal	Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
Volume	38
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407520970645
State	Published - Mar 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.

Funding

The authors are grateful to Daniel Byrne, Hallie Davis, Dale Erdmier, J. Kale Monk, Matthew Muscatella, Matthew Pasquini, Laura Saldivar, Claudia Szczepaniak, Erin C. Wehrman, and Sylvie Xiaowei Zhuang. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs through the Military Operational Medicine Research Program (Award W81XWH-14-2-0131). The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014, was the awarding and administering acquisition office. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the U.S. Department of Defense. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs through the Military Operational Medicine Research Program (Award W81XWH-14-2-0131). The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014, was the awarding and administering acquisition office. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Funders	Funder number
Sylvie Xiaowei Zhuang
U.S. Department of Defense
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs	W81XWH-14-2-0131

Keywords

Deception
deployment
military couples
reintegration
relational uncertainty
trust

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology
Communication
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Sociology and Political Science

Access to Document

10.1177/0265407520970645

Cite this

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abstract = "Relational uncertainty is both prominent and pivotal during the transition from deployment to reintegration. Most prior research has considered the outcomes rather than the origins of relational uncertainty, hampering the development of interventions for military couples. We theorize about two predictors of relational uncertainty during the post-deployment transition: suspicion about a partner{\textquoteright}s deception and trust. Results of an 8-wave longitudinal study involving 287 U.S. military couples (N = 4,147 observations) revealed that relational uncertainty increased over the transition for both returning service members and at-home partners. Suspicion about a partner{\textquoteright}s deception, and particularly trust, predicted the relational uncertainty of military couples at homecoming and over time. These findings advance knowledge about the roots of relational uncertainty and suggest ways to assist military couples upon reunion.",

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AU - Yorgason, Jeremy B.

AU - Basinger, Erin D.

AU - Abendschein, Bryan

AU - McAninch, Kelly G.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2020.

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Suspicion about a partner’s deception and trust as roots of relational uncertainty during the post-deployment transition

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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