Publication year
2016
Citation Title
Parental deployment and well-being in children: Results from a new study of military families
Journal Name
Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Journal Volume
24
Issue Number
2
Page Numbers
82-91
DOI
10.1177/1063426615598766
Summary
There are aspects of parental deployment that impact child development and emotional health. The association between deployment and child well-being was examined in this study by interviewing and collecting survey data from military families with a child under 10 years old. Results showed that military children were resilient in general, although children aged 6 to 10 years were more likely to be affected by parental deployment than younger children.
Key Findings
For 0-5 year old children, no association was found between deployment and problematic development; however, deployment was related to anxiety for preschoolers.
For 6-10 year old children, parental deployment was associated with peer and emotional problems.
The associations found in the study were modest in size, therefore it was concluded that military children were doing well in general.
Implications for Program Leaders
Develop after-school activities for military children that encourage them to express their feelings associated with parental deployment, as well as teach them about effective coping skills
Create classes and workshops for school administrators and teachers on the importance of emotional well-being for military students
Offer family activities that allow Service members and their children to engage with each other and express feelings about deployment
Implications for Policy Makers
Increase awareness about the importance of resilience and well-being for military spouses and children
Continue to support research and programs that aim to assist military families experiencing deployment-related stress
Recommend routine screening for emotional and behavioral problems in school-age military children
Methods
The study was part of a larger study regarding the impact of deployment on children aged 0 to 10 years.
Each participating family finished a telephone interview followed by a web-based survey about parent and child well-being, child emotional and behavioral issues, and child help-seeking behaviors.
Of all the 9,549 parents, 680 finished the initial interview (response rate = 7%), and 301 of them completed the web-based survey (response rate = 49%).
Participants
The sample included 680 military families; each family had at least one child between 0 to 10 years old, and at least one parent currently serving in the Army, Air Force, Marine, Navy, or Reserve.
The average age of the children was 5.44 years, and 46% of them were girls.
Information about race or ethnicity of the participants was absent in the article.
Limitations
The response rate of the study was low, so results may be subject to self-selection bias.
No data were gathered during deployment, therefore the deleterious effect of deployment might be underestimated.
The study was based on an existing data set, so the design did not allow for drawing conclusions about causation between parental deployment and children’s development.
Avenues for Future Research
Design a longitudinal study to examine if there is a latency or accumulation effect of deployment on child development over time
Increase the response rate by using incentives, or extend period of data collection
Collect data during parental deployment to get better understanding of the entire deployment cycle
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
This study examined whether several aspects of the timing and duration of parental deployment are detrimental to child developmental, emotional, and behavioral health in a random, national probability sample of Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps families with a child between the ages of birth and 10 years. The study included a telephone interview of 680 families followed by a web-based survey. Results showed that children were exposed to deployment between 1/6 and 1/5 of their lives across all ages studied. We found no association between deployment and problematic social and emotional development in children between the ages of 0 and 5 years. Experiencing a recent long deployment was associated with higher levels of generalized anxiety in children aged 3 to 5 years, and total percentage of life exposed to deployment was associated with elevated social anxiety in the same age group. For older children (6_10 years), having a parent deployed at birth was associated with more total and peer problems, and recent long deployment with more emotional problems. The effects found in this study were modest in size; thus, military children are doing well on average, but for the subset who suffer adverse effects from parental deployment, we suggest several potential services.
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