Women warriors: exploring the various dimensions of female service-members' role identities

This qualitative study provides an in-depth exploration into the experiences of female service members who served in various branches of the United States military after 9/11/2001. Aiming to address the limited research on female service member experiences, this investigation sought to understand how lived experiences of being a female military service member may contribute to the development and shifts of multiple dimensions of role identities. Six female service members, ages 26-56, participated in semi-structured interviews that offered them the platform to openly discuss various facets of their life experiences prior to, during, and following (if applicable) their military service, and how those experiences may have influenced their identity and sense of self over time. Through a grounded theory analysis of the data (Corbin & Strauss, 1990), a number of major thematic areas emerged that highlighted the confusion around expectations of women and their roles both in civilian society as well as in the military. There are various tensions and binds that delineate each cultures perceptions and expectations of women. Similarly, the women received conflicting messages about femininity vs. warrior and leadership norms, and these messages subsequently impacted the women, their relationships with others, and how they viewed their sense of self. Findings suggest female service members experience significant shifts in their identities upon entering the military and throughout their service in response to events in their environment. Additionally, the women who experienced role conflict or had difficulty negotiating the intersectionality of their identities tended to experience feelings of isolation, alienation, guilt, and shame. The discussion section is largely driven by the data and includes the investigators ideas for directions for future research as well as recommendations for interventions that have broader implications for working with female service members.Psy.D.Includes bibliographical reference