For each and every Israeli growing up, the prospect of military service looms over them. Spending two to three years away from their friends and family, serving their country, is a significant sacrifice which Israeli society normalizes and dictates. The service itself is not wholly positive or negative from a psychological point of view but still remains worth analysis due to its novelty. A significant portion of the research conducted on the matter focuses on the attachment implications of service for both the soldier and the parents.
Source: – Israel Defense Force
In a study from the University of Haifa by Scharf, Mayseless, and Kivenson-Baron, adjustment to the transition from high school to the military was studied in 120 adolescent girls. Studying attachment, the researchers unsurprisingly found that young women who were had more preoccupied attachment had a more difficult time adjusting, whereas women with dismissing or autonomous attachment had a less difficult time adjusting to their new life in the military (Scharf, Mayseless, and Kivenson-Baron, 2011). More broadly, the research tells us that attachment issues are similarly prevalent in a country where military service is mandatory, as opposed to where it isn’t. In countries where military service is not mandatory, we may see similar attachment issues brought up at the time of transition from high school to college. Although this latter transition is less inherently dangerous, attachment issues are often seen there as well. This tells us that while the transition to service is universal for the population, acceptance of the attachment issues it yields is not.
References can be found on our reference page.
Source: – Israel Defense Force