@article{THESIS,
      recid = {11886},
      author = {Mottet, Lily},
      title = {America Abroad: Finding Community on an Overseas US  Military Base},
      publisher = {University of Chicago},
      school = {M.A.},
      address = {2024-06},
      number = {THESIS},
      abstract = {In times of conflict and peace, the United States military  faces intense scrutiny across a variety of academic  disciplines; this includes sociological insights into the  dynamics of the “military family” unit. In families with  only one spouse serving in the military, the non-military  spouse greatly mediates the emotional responses of family  members to the unique stressors of the demands of the  military lifestyle (Brickell et al., 2020; Jensen et al.,  1989; Manguno-Mire et al., 2007; Sherman et al.). Yet the  question remains, where do spouses of US service members  find a social support network, especially in the most  isolating circumstances: living on an overseas military  base? Throughout the following text, I utilize the Social  Identity Model of Identity Change to analyze the responses  of 6 in-depth interviews and 8 supplementary survey  responses. Ultimately, I argue that spouses of US service  members lose integral parts of their identities in  relocating to an international military base; they must  then negotiate a space of belonging by fostering new  identities, altering existing identities, and/or drawing  upon less prominent identities. Understanding the  experiences of military spouses living overseas may  contribute to the development of new support systems  employed by the US Department of Defense and employers with  international employees that better meet the needs of  families required to relocate abroad; additionally, the  findings of this paper expand upon sociological theories of  identity formation, loss, and re-establishment in a global  context.},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/11886},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.11886},
}