Publication year
2014
Citation Title
Network supports and resiliency among U.S. Military spouses with children with special health care needs.
Journal Name
Family Relations
Journal Volume
63
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
55-70
DOI
10.1111/fare.12045
Summary
U.S. Air Force wives whose children had special health needs were compared to wives of children without special needs on measures of support and resiliency. Wives with special health needs children felt less supported than the comparison group. Resiliency for Air Force wives with special needs kids was stronger for those who have support from friends, neighbors, and the military.
Key Findings
Air Force wives with special health needs children reported lower support in seven domains than parents without special needs children (relationship support, extended family support, friend support, neighbor support, unit spouse support, community support, and military support).
Wives of Air Force officers reported higher levels of support from friends, neighbors, units, community, and military than wives of other Air Force personnel.
Air Force wives with special health needs children reported lower coping success than parents without special needs children, but reported equal levels of the other three resiliency measures (parent management, support for others, and overall spouse resiliency).
Of wives with special health needs children, friend support was significantly associated with coping success. Both friend and neighbor support were associated with better parent management.
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer support groups for military families dealing with children with special needs
Provide spouse support groups at bases to promote friendships among all Service members spouses
Disseminate information regarding the resources and services available to military families who have a child with special needs
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support programs that offer regular wives activities to promote friendships among Service members spouses
Consider the unique barriers to resiliency faced by Service members with special health needs children
Continue to support programs that offer services and resources to military families with a child with special needs
Methods
A secondary data analysis was conducted on data collected between February and March 2011 from U.S. Air Force spouses.
The primary constructs being measured were support and resiliency (assessed with the Support and Resiliency Inventory-Spouse version).
Female spouses of male Air Force members who have at least one child were the target participants for this study.
Participants
One thousand one hundred-four spouses completed questionnaires (approximately 25-30% completion rate from population across these 62 bases).
Nineteen percent of participants had a child with special health needs. Most participants were stationed within the continental United States (85%) and were between the ages of 26-35 (47%) or 36-45 (43%). Race/ethnicity was not reported.
Participants spouses were nearly equally split between enlisted personnel (51%) and officers (49%).
Limitations
The questionnaire used here did not identify parent, child, or family characteristics that impact resiliency and family functioning limiting that validity of the results.
As a secondary data analysis, little information is given about the methodology used in the original data collection.
Participants were from the Air Force; therefore, it is unknown whether these findings can generalize to other branches of the military.
Avenues for Future Research
Utilize a longitudinal design and seek to have a larger and more diverse sample
Measure relevant child characteristics that are known to impact family functioning
Examine how formal and informal support networks affect resiliency for military parents of children with special health needs
Focus
Air Force
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Understanding how military families who have children with special health care needs (CSHCN) successfully cope in the context of exceptional demands of the military lifestyle can inform scholarship, policy, and practice to the benefit of families. Using data from 775 female civilian parents (mothers serving as Key Spouses) married to active duty Air Force members, this study examined differences on dimensions of network support and spouse resiliency between mothers who do and do not have CSHCN, as well as the relative contribution of formal and informal network support to variation in self-reports of resiliency among mothers with CSHCN. Mothers with CSHCN experience significantly less formal and informal network support than their counterparts. Despite this, they reported equivalent overall resiliency, with lower perceived resiliency on only one of four resiliency outcomes. More formal and informal network support was generally associated with higher resilience. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed.
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