Maternal depression in the prenatal and postpartum periods is an important concern for women, infants, and families. Military family life may create some unique stressors, including operational deployment of an active duty husband, which increase perinatal depression challenges for women.
Previously, McLeland and Sutton (2005) assessed marital satisfaction among 46 male civilians and Reserve Component personnel, some of the latter having been alerted for a future deployment.
Military deployment affects thousands of families each year, yet little is known about its impact on nondeployed spouses (NDSS) and romantic relationships.
Background: Maternal depression is a common condition among new mothers that can be associated with poor maternal health and negative consequences on infant health.
When military service members separate from the military, many return to their families of origin, living with their parents for a period of several weeks to years.
Prior empirical research on the earnings penalty of being a tied-migrant has focused primarily on the working wives of servicemen.
Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) consistently evidence higher rates of intimate partner aggression perpetration than veterans without PTSD, but most studies have examined rates of aggression among Vietnam veterans several years after their deployment.
Deployment represents a significant potential strain on military families. The impact of postdeployment stresses may be increased if family coping resources are diminished by returning service members' physical injuries, mental health issues, or substance abuse.
Objectives: To examine whether children with Navy mothers exhibit higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior than children in civilian families and whether deployment affects children's internalizing and externalizing behavior.
BACKGROUND: Military deployment of one or both parents is associated with declines in school performance, behavioral difficulties, and increases in reported mental health conditions, but less is known regarding injury risks in pediatric military dependents.