Ambiguous absence, ambiguous presence: a qualitative study of military reserve families in wartime.

The "Global War on Terrorism" has resulted in reservists being deployed at an ever-increasing rate. However, because reservists and their families are unaccustomed to deployments, many families may experience boundary ambiguity, a state in which family members are uncertain in their perception about who is in or out of the family and who is performing which roles and tasks within the family. This qualitative description study examined boundary ambiguity in military reserve families over time. A sample of 34 reservists, spouses, and parents was interviewed 7 times within the 1st year of the reservists' return from Iraq. During deployment, all family members experienced boundary ambiguity. Gathering information and attending a family support group provided some relief for families. After the reservists returned, couples as well as those who had experienced additional life events or losses experienced the highest levels of boundary ambiguity. However, this boundary ambiguity dissipated over time, as families tended to restabilize once the reservists had returned to work and a routine had been established.

An episodic process model of affective influences on performance.

In this article, the authors present a model linking immediate affective experiences to within-person performance. First, the authors define a time structure for performance (the performance episode) that is commensurate with the dynamic nature of affect. Next, the authors examine the core cognitive and regulatory processes that determine performance for 1 person during any particular episode. Third, the authors describe how various emotions and moods influence the intermediary performance processes, thereby affecting performance. In the final section of the article, the authors discuss limitations, future research directions, and practical implications for their episodic process model of affect and performance.