- Title
- Transition from the Australian Defence Force to civilian life: an occupational perspective
- Creator
- Kerr, Nathan
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2023
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- This thesis adds new insights and understandings about the experience of the military-to-civilian transition from the perspective of former serving Australian Defence Force members. These experiences are considered from an occupational therapy standpoint. The qualitative research used narrative inquiry to explore the transition experience of 12 former serving Australian Defence Force members. The two chosen narrative methods of analysis provide an exploration of transition that utilise the participants’ voices to better understand the military-to-civilian transition. The narrative plot analysis presents individual participants’ transition experiences using vignettes of their transition to civilian life. The narrative thematic analysis presents the predominate themes identified in all 12 participants’ experiences, presenting both emergent and priori transition data. The results of this study highlight how the transition to civilian life from the Australian Defence Force is an individualising experience, often an isolating process, which is in contrast to the collective or group experience of military service. The participants’ narratives illustrate how their occupational participation and competence in military occupations in service shape the transition, and highlight how this participation and competence shapes occupational identity issues that surface in transition to civilian life. The study identified that an occupational analysis of the military-to-civilian transition can enable a greater understanding to support the transition to civilian life. Critical to enabling the transition was peer support, occupational participation that promotes individuality, occupational competence that addresses diminished self-efficacy, and the establishment of an occupational identity derived from the competence of a military identity. This thesis highlights the need to further research the utilisation of occupational therapy to enable the military-to-civilian transition.
- Subject
- transition; Australian Defence Force; reintegration; veteran; former serving member
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1495913
- Identifier
- uon:54083
- Rights
- Copyright 2023 Nathan Kerr
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 4 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 268 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |