Publication year
2015
Citation Title
Associations of contextual risk and protective factors with fathers’ parenting practices in the postdeployment environment
Journal Name
Psychological Services
Journal Volume
12
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
250-260
DOI
10.1037/ser0000038
Summary
Post-deployed fathers' who served in the National Guard and Reserves, involvement and effective parenting were examined. Pre-intervention data were used from fathers participating in the After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT) randomized control trial. Parenting practices were obtained from direct observation of father- child interaction and included measures of problem solving, harsh discipline, positive involvement, encouragement, and monitoring.
Key Findings
Higher levels of National Guard and Reserves families’ income were associated with higher levels of effective parenting.
Higher levels of National Guard and Reserves families’ income were associated with higher levels of effective parenting.
Younger National Guard and Reserves parents demonstrated more effective parenting than older parents.
Risk and protective factors were associated with prosocial parenting domains of positive involvement and skill encouragement.
Implications for Program Leaders
Develop cost-effective high quality short term child care options for military families with a deployed family member
Offer post-deployment programs to support and foster strong father-child relationships
Provide programs for deployed fathers that focus on effective parenting strategies
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend education of child care and after-school providers on the possible effects of parent-child relationships during deployment and post-deployment
Encourage awareness among psychological providers on protecting crucial parenting functions to strengthen the next generation of military families
Develop an awareness campaign around military dads and parenting
Methods
This study examined a subset of data from a larger longitudinal prevention study that included 336 families with 282 families having deployed fathers.
The randomly assigned treatment group (60% of families) received the ADAPT parenting program. The other 40% of families received the usual services.
Study measures included the Life Events Questionnaire, Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Parenting Support Index, and observations of fathers’ parenting practices.
Path regression analyses using structural equation modeling examined the hypothesized risk and protective factors’ association to domains of father’s parenting.
Participants
Eligibility criteria included having a child between age 4-12 years and one parent who had deployed to the current conflicts.
Participants were fathers (n = 282), 87.6% of whom were married, 89% of whom were White, and almost 50% completed at least their bachelor’s degree.
Most (60.3%) participants were deployed with the Army National Guard, 12.1% with the Army Reserves, and 9.9% with the Air National Guard.
Limitations
Due to this being a cross-sectional study direct linkages between measures cannot be inferred.
The sample was limited to National Guard and Reserves families with school-age children; therefore, not representative of the entire military population.
Generalizability is limited to other military populations due the focus on the National Guard and Reserves population.
Avenues for Future Research
Replicate the study with a more diverse (i.e. race and branch) group of military and civilian families
Explore different aspects of the deployed father-child relationship within military families
Address the long-term effects on father-child relationships post-deployment
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
Deployment separation and reunifications are salient contexts that directly impact effective family functioning and parenting for military fathers. Yet, we know very little about determinants of postdeployed father involvement and effective parenting. The present study examined hypothesized risk and protective factors of observed parenting for 282 postdeployed fathers who served in the National Guard/Reserves. Preintervention data were employed from fathers participating in the After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools randomized control trial. Parenting practices were obtained from direct observation of father_ child interaction and included measures of problem solving, harsh discipline, positive involvement, encouragement, and monitoring. Risk factors included combat exposure, negative life events, months deployed, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Protective factors included education, income, dyadic adjustment, and social support. Results of a structural equation model assessing risk and protective factors for an effective parenting construct indicated that months deployed, income, and father age were most related to observed parenting, explaining 16% of the variance. We are aware of no other study using direct parent_ child observations of fathers’ parenting skills following overseas deployment. Implications for practice and preventive intervention are discussed.
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