Publication year
2003
Citation Title
Geographic mobility, family, and maternal variables as related to the psychosocial adjustment of military children.
Journal Name
Military Medicine
Journal Volume
168
Issue Number
12
Page Numbers
1019-1024
Summary
The impact of geographic mobility, family functioning, and maternal well-being on military youth’s mental health was examined among 86 mother-child dyads with an Active Duty father. Children’s reports of peer relationships, self-esteem, and loneliness were predicted by family cohesion, length of time in the current home, and mother-child relationship quality. Children’s aggression and noncompliance were predicted by maternal depression and mother-child relationship quality.
Key Findings
Length of time in current home was a stronger predictor of child functioning than frequency of family moves during child’s life, and children who had lived in their residence longer had better peer relationships and less loneliness.
Children were less afraid of negative evaluation from others when they had lived in their residence longer and had a family with greater cohesion.
Maternal depression predicted children’s anxiety, withdrawal, and sadness; positive mother-child relationships, family cohesiveness, and a longer time in the current residence predicted children's self-esteem.
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer welcome events for new families at their installations, helping parents and youth meet other families and learn about community resources
Create a buddy system, matching new military youth with mentor youth who could help the child feel welcome and meet new friends
Provide supportive classes for mothers managing depression, including offering structures for peer support and other enjoyable socialization opportunities
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend that decisions about the frequency of military family moves take into consideration the impact on the family, including children
Continue to support programs at military installations that provide outreach and support services to families who recently moved
Encourage the training of professionals working with military families about the factors that may affect family and child adjustment following a move
Methods
Families were recruited via school newsletters and advertisements around base.
Mothers completed questionnaires assessing family cohesiveness and adaptability, marital satisfaction, maternal depression and stress, and child behavior and emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety, withdrawal, aggressiveness, noncompliance).
Children completed questionnaires assessing loneliness, social avoidance and distress, fear of negative evaluation, peer relationships, perceptions of global self-worth, and attitudes toward their mothers.
The relationships between maternal psychological adjustment, family environment, children’s feelings toward their mothers, rate of family mobility, and children’s psychological functioning were examined.
Participants
Participants included 86 mother-child dyads in which the father was an Active Duty Service member.
Children were 11.6 years of age on average, while mothers were 36.1 years of age on average and primarily White (65%).
On average, family had spent 2.9 years living in their current residence.
Limitations
Data were cross sectional, so causal conclusions cannot be drawn.
Most of the fathers in these families were career military personnel; the extent to which the experience of other military families may differ is unknown.
Only families with male Service members and female spouses were examined, and results may not generalize to other types of families (e.g., same-sex couples, female Service members, single-parent families).
Avenues for Future Research
Examine the effects of child age on family and child adjustment following a move
Explore how family type (e.g., dual career couples, female Service members, families with several children) may influence child adjustment following a move
Investigate the role of child personality and behavior on their responses to adjusting after a move
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
The present study examined maternal and family factors and family mobility as related to mothers' and children's reports of the psychological adjustment of children in military families. Participants were 86 mother-child dyads in U.S. traditional military families. Children's reports of loneliness, peer relationships, fear of negative evaluations, and self-esteem were predicted by family cohesiveness, children's reports of their relationships with their mothers, and the length of time they had lived in their current residence, but not their rate of mobility (i.e., number of moves in the child's lifetime divided by the child's age). In contrast, maternal depressive symptoms predicted children's depressive and anxious behaviors, and both maternal depressive symptoms and children's perception of their relationship with their mothers predicted children's aggression and noncompliance. Results suggest that moving may not be as important as other aspects of maternal functioning and family relationships for the psychosocial adjustment of children in military families.
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