The Effects of Stress and Social Support on Externalizing Behaviors Among Children in Military Families

Stress and the ways that families cope with stress often have a large impact on children's behavior, which may be particularly relevant for military families. This study investigated externalizing behaviors among military children and associations with family stress and social support. Findings indicated that, while military wives with high stress levels reported greater child externalizing behavior, strong social support among military wives served as a protective factor against the effects of stress and was related to lower levels of child externalizing behavior.