Publication year
2016
Citation Title
The relationship of predeployment child-focused preparedness to reintegration attitudes and PTSD symptoms in military fathers with young children.
Journal Name
Translational Issues in Psychological Science
Journal Volume
2
Issue Number
4
Page Numbers
429-438
DOI
10.1037/tps0000093
Summary
Deployment may pose stress for both Service members and their children. This study interviewed 30 Service members about their pre- and post-deployment experiences, and examined the relationship between pre-deployment child-focused preparation, reintegration attitudes, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Results revealed that compared to Service members who did not prepare their children for deployment, those who engaged in pre-deployment child preparation were less likely to have negative reintegration attitude or meet the clinical criteria for PTSD.
Key Findings
Service members who prepared their children for deployment viewed their deployment as less stressful and reported more positive reintegration attitude than Service members who did not engage in child-focused pre-deployment preparation.
No significant associations were found between pre-deployment child preparedness and Service members' PTSD symptoms.
Service members who prepared their children for deployment were less likely to meet the clinical criteria of PTSD.
Implications for Program Leaders
Organize family events frequently so that Service members can have better opportunities to bond with their children through fun activities
Teach Service members and their spouses about how to prepare their children for an upcoming deployment
Offer activity groups for children whose parents are deployed to increase their understanding of the deployment cycle
Implications for Policy Makers
Raise awareness by holding family education events of the importance of pre-deployment child-focused preparation on Service members' well-being
Support programs that foster positive relationships between Service members and their children
Continue to support research on how to engage the whole family to help Service members' reintegration process
Methods
Participants were recruited via emails, in-person briefs, and social media.
Participants were interviewed face-to-face or by phone about whether or not they prepared their children for the upcoming deployment, their attitudes about the reintegration experience, and PTSD symptoms.
Data were analyzed to examine the associations between pre-deployment child-focused preparation and Service members' reintegration attitude and PTSD symptoms.
Participants
Participants were 30 male Active Duty or Reserve Service members who returned from a deployment within two years of the study and had a child aged six years or younger during the deployment.
The average age of the participants was 30.97 years (SD = 4.49); most of them were White (n = 25), followed by Black (n = 3) and others (n = 2).
The participants who were Active Duty Service members served in Air Force (n = 7), Navy (n = 2), and Army (n = 1), and the participants who were Reserve Service members served in Air National Guard (n = 17), Army National Guard (n = 2), and Army Reserves (n = 1).
Limitations
Service members' child-focused pre-deployment preparation was assessed by only one question; therefore, it may not accurately capture the level of preparedness.
Data were not gathered immediately after deployment but were collected up to two years after deployment, so they could be subject to participants' memory bias.
The cross-sectional design of the study made it impossible to determine the causal relationship between child-focused preparation, reintegration attitude, and PTSD symptoms.
Avenues for Future Research
Gather data in shorten time intervals between Service members' return from deployment and assessment to obtain a more accurate examination of their reintegration attitude and pre-deployment child preparation
Examine female Service members' associations between pre-deployment child preparation, PTSD symptoms, and reintegration experience
Design longitudinal studies to examine whether poor pre-deployment child-focused preparation causes negative reintegration attitude and PTSD symptoms, or vise versa
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
Research shows that lower negative reintegration attitudes relate to lower levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among service members. Furthermore, mission preparedness has been shown to buffer the effects of combat exposure on PTSD development. The current study aims to extend the preparedness for deployment research into the family domain by examining the effect of predeployment childfocused preparedness on military fathers’ reintegration attitudes and PTSD symptoms. Correlations were conducted to examine the relationship between predeployment child-focused preparedness, reintegration attitudes, and PTSD symptoms among military fathers with young children (N = 30). Findings indicate that preparing one’s young children prior to deployment is positively related to fathers’ less negative reintegration attitudes following the deployment. Additionally, participants who engaged in predeployment child-focused preparation were significantly less likely to meet the clinical cut-off for PTSD compared to those who did not engage in any preparation for their young children. Implications for the potential positive impact of predeployment childfocused preparation on the family system are discussed, particularly as a buffer against PTSD among reintegrating service members.
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