The Long War and Parental Combat Deployment: Effects on Military Children and At-Home Spouses - 21/06/13
, Kris Peterson, COLM.D. b, James Reeves, CDRM.D. c, Larry Knauss, Ph.D. b, Dorie Glover, Ph.D. a, Catherine Mogil, Psy.D. a, Naihua Duan, Ph.D. d, William Saltzman, Ph.D. a, Robert Pynoos, M.D. a, Katherine Wilt, M.S. a, William Beardslee, M.D. e
Correspondence to Dr. Patricia Lester, Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Semel Institute, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room A8-159, Los Angeles, CA 90024Résumé |
Objective |
Given the growing number of military service members with families and the multiple combat deployments characterizing current war time duties, the impact of deployments on military children requires clarification. Behavioral and emotional adjustment problems were examined in children (aged 6 through 12) of an active duty Army or Marine Corps parent currently deployed (CD) or recently returned (RR) from Afghanistan or Iraq.
Method |
Children (N = 272) and their at-home civilian (AHC) (N = 163) and/or recently returned active duty (AD) parent (N = 65) were interviewed. Child adjustment outcomes were examined in relation to parental psychological distress and months of combat deployment (of the AD) using mixed effects linear models.
Results |
Parental distress (AHC and AD) and cumulative length of parental combat–related deployments during the child's lifetime independently predicted increased child depression and externalizing symptoms. Although behavioral adjustment and depression levels were comparable to community norms, anxiety was significantly elevated in children in both deployment groups. In contrast, AHC parental distress was greater in those with a CD (vs. RR) spouse.
Conclusions |
Findings indicate that parental combat deployment has a cumulative effect on children that remains even after the deployed parent returns home, and that is predicted by psychological distress of both the AD and AHC parent. Such data may be informative for screening, prevention, and intervention strategies.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Key Words : military children, deployment stress, family risk
Plan
| This article is discussed in an editorial by Dr. Gail Manos on page 297. |
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| This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute for Child and Human Development (R03 HD049451). |
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| The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. The investigators have adhered to the policies for protection of human subjects as prescribed in 45 CFR 46. |
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| Disclosure: Drs. Lester, Peterson, Reeves, Knauss, Glover, Mogil, Duan, Saltzman, Pynoos, and Beardslee, and Ms. Wilt report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. |
Vol 49 - N° 4
P. 310-320 - avril 2010 Retour au numéro
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