Abstract
This study explores spouses' experiences of their partners' absence due to frequent business travel. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five male and five female participants, all of whom had at least one child living with and dependent on them. The findings indicate that respondents generally do not find their spouses' absence to be inherently stressful. However, negative outcomes were more common than positive ones. Various dynamics operate in the remaining spouses' appraisal of the situation. The main coping resources utilised included work flexibility and social support. Spouses used both problem and emotion-focused coping strategies to cope with their partners' absence. Women in the sample tended to make greater use of coping strategies as well as having more extensive and varied coping repertoires, particularly with respect to emotion-focused coping.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
