Marital Relational Turbulence During the "Swords of Iron" War

Background: On October 7, 2023, a terror attack launched by the terrorist organization Hamas against the State of Israel marked the beginning of the "Iron Swords" War, which Israel continues to fight across multiple fronts. This war has required an extensive mobilization of military reservists, a high proportion of whom are married men. In the existing literature, relationship challenges during wartime have primarily been examined in relation to psychopathological factors, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression, and their links to marital quality. The present study focuses on the routine relational dynamics of combat reservists within the general population under acute stress conditions.

The study investigates these relational dynamics through the framework of Relational Turbulence Theory (RTT). This framework offers a conceptual model for understanding how marital difficulties emerge during periods of transition and change within romantic relationships. The theory posits that transitions heighten relational uncertainty (doubts regarding one's own involvement, the partner's involvement, and the future of the relationship) and alter the dynamics of interdependence between partners, manifested in partner interference (perceiving partner behaviors as disrupting daily routines or hindering goals) and partner facilitation (perceiving partner behaviors as assisting and promoting routines). As relational uncertainty and partner interference rise, relational turbulence intensifies, concurrently diminishing the capacity for relationship communication management (Solomon & Knobloch, 2001, 2004). The study examined these theoretical parameters among combat reservists and their association with couples' communication management strategies—specifically "protective buffering." This strategy is characterized by withholding information or avoiding disclosure regarding sensitive issues to shield one's partner from emotional distress (Coyne & Smith, 1991), and has been identified as a mechanism explaining emotional avoidance among service members (Knobloch & Wilson, 2014; McAninch et al., 2021). Finally, the study examined how the integration of RTT mechanisms with protective buffering relates to reservists' marital satisfaction, and evaluated unit social support as a moderating variable to determine whether support from unit peers attenuates the negative association between relational turbulence and marital satisfaction during wartime.

Research Questions and Hypotheses: The study aimed to examine direct associations among protective buffering, relational uncertainty, partner interference, partner facilitation, relational turbulence, and marital satisfaction. In addition, it tested two mediation pathways: (a) whether partner interference, partner facilitation, and relational uncertainty mediate the link between protective buffering and relational turbulence; and (b) whether relational turbulence mediates the associations between partner interference, partner facilitation, and relational uncertainty and marital satisfaction. Finally, the study tested the moderating effect of unit social support on the relationship between relational turbulence and marital satisfaction. The overarching research question examined whether RTT remains applicable to Israeli combat reservists within the context of a prolonged war.

Method: This study utilized a quantitative-correlational design. Participants included 151 male combat reservists who served in the "Iron Swords" War, recruited via snowball sampling, who completed online self-report questionnaires. The research instruments comprised a demographic questionnaire, the Protective Buffering Scale (PBS), the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), the Unit Social Support Scale (USSS), and RTT measures: the Interdependence Scale (IS), the Relational Uncertainty Scale (RUS), and the Relational Turbulence Scale (RTS). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlations as well as mediation and moderation models via the PROCESS macro.

Key Findings: The findings revealed a significant positive indirect association between protective buffering and relational turbulence, operating through the variable of relational uncertainty; mediation paths through partner interference and partner facilitation were non-significant. Furthermore, core premises of the relational turbulence model were corroborated: relational uncertainty was positively associated with partner interference and negatively associated with partner facilitation. Relational turbulence fully mediated the association between partner interference and marital satisfaction, whereas partner facilitation was directly and independently associated with higher marital satisfaction. In addition, a negative correlation was found between relational turbulence and reservists' marital satisfaction. Finally, unit social support had a significant moderating effect: among reservists who reported high levels of peer unit support, the negative association between relational turbulence and marital satisfaction was significantly attenuated.

Conclusions: The findings lead to the conclusion that even within the reality of active, prolonged combat, the structural pathways of the relational turbulence model remain applicable. Consistent with the theory, greater relational uncertainty exacerbates negative cognitive appraisals of partner behaviors as disruptive, intensifying relational turbulence and diminishing marital satisfaction. An additional and vital conclusion is the identification of unit social support as a resilient moderating factor in the link between relational turbulence and marital satisfaction. This underscores that supportive resources external to the dyad contribute significantly to stabilizing the marital bond during wartime.

Significance of the Study: The significance of this study lies in its comprehensive examination of the full suite of relational turbulence theory parameters under the unique and extreme conditions of the "Iron Swords" War. At the theoretical level, the study expands existing literature by applying the turbulence model and the protective buffering mechanism within a prolonged traumatic reality among combat reservists, providing novel insights into how these variables operate during an ongoing national crisis. At the applied level, the study reinforces existing findings regarding the value of external support systems, specifically highlighting the role of unit social support as a resilience anchor for combatants. These findings provide a practical roadmap for the IDF, the Ministry of Defense, and clinical practitioners to develop systemic couple-oriented interventions and targeted preventive programs aiming to bolster the familial resilience of the reserve forces and mitigate marital crises.