Single Military Mothers in the New Millennium: Stresses, Supports, and Effects of Deployment

The present study examined Navy mothers’ reports about their own and their children’s psychological symptoms. Navy mothers (n = 154) were divided into a deployment group (n = 71, defined as facing a military-induced separation within the next 60 days) and a nondeploying control group (n = 83) who were not expecting deployment in the next year and a nondeploying control group. They were assessed twice (prior to and after deployment and at similar times for the nondeploying group). A path analytic model was tested separately for single and married Navy mothers. For both single and married Navy mothers, maternal psychosocial adjustment at the initial assessment was associated with maternal adjustment at the final assessment. In addition, children’s emotional and behavioral functioning at the initial assessment predicted children’s adjustment at the final assessment. For single Navy mothers, experiencing more psychological symptomatology predicted children’s internalizing and externalizing behavior at the final assessment; however, this relationship was not present for married Navy mothers and their children.