Publication year
2016
Citation Title
Effects of a military parenting program on parental distress and suicidal ideation: After deployment adaptive parenting tools
Journal Name
Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior
Journal Volume
46
Issue Number
S1
Page Numbers
S23-S31
DOI
10.1111/sltb.12255
Summary
A randomized controlled trial of the after deployment, adaptive parenting tools (ADAPT) program for deployed National Guard and Reserve (NG/R) families with a school-aged child was conducted. ADAPT is a 14 week multifamily group program targeting improvement of parenting skills that uses active teaching methods such as roleplay, practice, and discussion. Overall, the observed outcomes of the program went beyond just enhancing parenting skills.
Key Findings
Participants in the ADAPT program improved their locus of control (the extent to which a parent believed that they could control events affecting them) which led to reductions in mothers’ and fathers’ suicidal ideation at 12 months post-baseline.
Parents improved locus of control was associated with fewer concurrent difficulties in emotion regulation (one’s ability to control how they react within a given context).
Mother’s emotion regulation problems decreased as well as their posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology.
Implications for Program Leaders
Utilize active teaching methods such as role-play, practice, and discussion in programming with military families to facilitate the development of parenting skills
Offer pre- and post-deployment support groups for deployed parents and their children
Support programming for deployed parents that focuses on emotion regulation and parenting
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue support for effective parenting and mental health of military parents
Build awareness across military branches around the importance of supporting and promoting mental health and effective parenting for Service members and their partners
Recommend education of professionals (e.g. child caregivers, mental health, education professionals) on the possible effects of parents’ emotion regulation and parenting during deployment and post-deployment
Methods
Participants were recruited through presentations at pre-deployment and reintegration events for NG/R personnel, mailings, and social media.
Following the baseline assessment, 60% of parents were randomized to the ADAPT condition and 40% to a services-as-usual condition.
Analyses were conducted to look at whether or not the ADAPT intervention improved parent locus of control and reduced emotion regulation problems.
Participants
Eligibility criteria included having a child between age 5-12 years and one parent who had deployed to current conflicts since 2001.
Out of the 336 participating military families, there were 294 fathers, and 314 mothers. Fathers were deployed in 96% of families, and mothers in 18%, and both in 13% of families.
Most parents were deployed with the Army National Guard (59%), Army Reserves (30%), and Air National Guard (11%).
Limitations
The sample was limited to NG/R families from one state, Minnesota, with school-age children; therefore, not representative of the entire military population.
The measures used for suicidal ideation and behavior were limited in scope, only one question, so results should be interpreted with care.
The 12-month post-assessment was completed by 255 (81%) mothers and 226 (76.8%) fathers, which could have biased towards the outcomes of those who were motivated to complete the program.
Avenues for Future Research
Investigate the associations over time among parenting, emotion regulation, and deployment of both mothers and fathers
Broaden access of the ADAPT program to other military branches in other states, to evaluate if the program has similar outcomes with these different populations
Include deployed Service members and their young children to see if the program serves that population’s needs
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
Few studies have examined whether parenting prevention programs might mitigate risk for suicidality in parents, yet parent suicidality is a strong risk factor for offspring suicidality. We report results from a randomized controlled trial of a parenting program for deployed National Guard and Reserve families with a school-aged child. Intent-to-treat analyses showed that random assignment to the parenting program (ADAPT) was associated with improved parenting locus of control (LOC). Improved parenting LOC was concurrently associated with strengthened emotion regulation which predicted reductions in psychological distress and suicidal ideation at 12months postbaseline. Results are discussed in the context of ongoing efforts to reduce suicide rates in military populations.
Abstract Document
PRTW Document
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