Complex spaces of involvement during and after paternal deployment: Danish children’s emotions and relationships with their fathers

Abstract

A growing body of research indicates that children of formerly deployed soldiers are at risk of experiencing negative outcomes, but studies are lacking in terms of the exploration of children’s emotions from their own perspective. This article is based on qualitative interviews with 26 children (age 7–20) from 19 Danish families with formerly deployed fathers. The children’s emotions are complex and ambiguous. While deployment leads to a distanced relationship between children and their fathers, following it, some form a close relationship following deployment. However, other children become responsible for maintaining their relationship with their father, altering the generational order.