Support for Adolescents Who Experience Parental Military Deployment
Article Outline
- Effects of Parental Deployment on the Family
- Adolescent Responses to Parental Military Deployment
- Effect of School Staff on Adolescents Associated With Parental Deployments
- Recommendations
- Future Areas of Research
- Conclusions
- References
- Copyright
See Related Article p. 218
Since 2001, the United States has been engaged in an overseas war with an all-volunteer force of men and women, of whom more than 800,000 are parents who have deployed [1]. Associated with military members are over 3 million immediate family members, of whom approximately 400,000 are adolescents [2]. Deployments, especially to combat operations, have led to an increasing amount of familial separation, relocation, changes in daily routines, and shifts in primary care giving responsibility. Extended family, school staff, community, friends, and cultural affiliations have become a greater presence in an adolescent's daily life and serve as psychosocial and emotional support. A critical issue is how to support adolescents from military families in our current society.
Effects of Parental Deployment on the Family
Parental absence from the home because of military deployment places added stress on family dynamics, and on the time and ability to parent [3], [4], [5], [6]. Particularly with military families, many factors mediate or exacerbate the stresses on the adolescent associated with deployment-induced separation, but primary is the fear of parental death or injury [4], [7], [8]. Research related to military families from prior conflicts has consistently pointed to the difficulties with war-induced separation [9], [10], [11], [12], and 19% of families with a member deployed during Operation Desert Storm experienced moderate or severe family adjustment problems [13]. Importantly, as long as 1 year after reunion, families experienced difficulties that were attributed to deployment [6], [14]. Other studies indicate an increase in child maltreatment during parental combat-related deployments [15], [16], [17]. Parenting is a significant issue and is supported by another study that identified one-third of military children at “high risk” for psychosocial morbidity, with parenting stress as the most significant predictor of child psychosocial functioning during wartime deployment [14]. One of the primary sources of stress for the family is in adjusting to changes in roles and responsibilities, particularly in the post-deployment phase [18], [19].
Adolescent Responses to Parental Military Deployment
A total of 66% of adolescents from military families were reported to be distressed by the war; however, only 22% reported difficulty in coping with the experience [20]. One study specifically examined the effect of war-induced separation on adolescents and found that they perceived deployment as a negative event in their lives, reported behavior changes when a parent was deployed (changes in school performance as well as symptoms consistent with depression), and experienced a general increase in stress in their lives, which they exhibited in different ways. Conversely, they also discovered that the adolescents demonstrated resiliency and adaptive responses, including a willingness to take on more responsibilities at home. They concluded that family support for the parent remaining at home was critical for coping with the stress, and that support (family, peer, and community) was a key factor in promoting healthy behaviors [21].
Adolescence is also a critical period often associated with increased risk behaviors (e.g., substance abuse, physical fights, promiscuity, etc.). Although adolescents are emotionally and economically reliant on their parents, they also want independence. Problem behaviors often decrease between the ages of 2 and 12 years, but increase during adolescence [22], reflecting the self-exploration that often occurs in older youth and the comparatively decreased adult supervision. Survey research conducted by the author also revealed that 75% of mothers of adolescents who deployed reported that their adolescent children had zero risky behaviors before deployment; however, more than 75% of the associated adolescents had one to 10 risky behaviors during and after parental deployment, with the most common problems noted as poor school performance, poor diet, and a lack of exercise. When the mother returned, diet would often improve, but the decline in schoolwork persisted. Additionally, the cumulative effect of multiple risky behaviors is associated with issues for the adolescent in social maturation, emotional stability, and health [14].
Effect of School Staff on Adolescents Associated With Parental Deployments
The article by Chandra et al in this month's issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health advances an understanding of the role and importance of school staff in support of adolescent growth and development, as well as promotion of a healthy environment and positive role modeling for those experiencing parental separation as a result of military deployment. As most children spend a majority of their day in school, the support of the staff for military families is crucial. Chandra et al, articulate the emotional and psychosocial responses that school age children display with school staff, reflecting the depth of adolescent emotional and maturational needs. They articulate that school staff is cognizant of issues that exist for adolescents with support networks, lack of information, generation of fear, and the emotional impact that occurs in the classroom. Also noted are the differences in reactions from the beginning of the period of deployments to current deployments. Earlier deployments were more prevalent in the media and generally more supported in society, whereas current deployments have become status quo, with minimal media attention. This transfers to the amount of support received by the military and family, and often the child relies on school staff for emotional and social support [23].
Chandra et al are supported in the published data by others who found that school staff were underprepared to handle the issues related to students from military families [18], [24]. Specifically noted was the need for staff training and for students to discuss deployment-related issues and stressors, especially during the time of the parent's return, so as to assist during the time of reintegration [18]. Overall, the published data reveal that military deployments have a significant effect on military families, family relationships, and adolescent health. Family and extended community support are key components to ensuring adolescent health.
Recommendations
Communication is a key component to adolescent health, as is addressing the fear of the unknown. In the current information age of global connectivity and complexity, adolescent fear is compounded by a plethora of media reports. Too often, children are unaware of their parent's specific job and are often left wondering, confused, and in need of emotional support. Communication is important in preparing, counseling, and assisting the adolescent to cope with parental absence and the fear of having a parent in a combat zone with the potential for injury or death. It is important to address the thoughts and concerns of each child and allow for articulation so that perspective can be achieved.
All military members are affected by the experience of war, and this personal transformation is then reflected in how they fulfill their roles as a parent. Mothers and fathers need to know how to parent, and thus need training in preparing children for deployments, supporting them through the deployment time period, and after deployment coping with the effects on themselves so that their parenting is enhanced by their experiences. Coping with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while assuming the role and responsibility of parenting can be particularly challenging.
In military families, personal sacrifices are made and a certain amount of family time is lost. Planned family events and celebrating milestones can help the family to recover and create new experiences that build familial relationships. Reintegration of the military member is complex and has only begun to be researched for today's veterans. One study provides some insight into the tasks for military families associated with reintegration and can serve as guidance for rebuilding families, that is, redefining roles and divisions of labor, managing strong emotions, creating intimacy, and creating shared meaning [25].
Future Areas of Research
Future research can focus on understanding and exploring the effects of parental military deployment on the adolescent child, the needs of spouses and caregivers, and the role and responsibility for extended communities of school, military units, neighborhoods, and cultural affiliations. Most military family research is predominantly with fathers, and gender-specific research, maternal separation, and when dual military families have both parents deployed are underreported in the current literature.
Family relationships, specifically the issues that arise for spouses when one partner deploys, and marital stressors can occur. Comparisons could also be done of the remaining spouse, the mother or father, and their fulfillment of the role as general family manager. Additionally, with increased longevity in society in general, many military members with adolescents will find that they are the “sandwich” generation, with the responsibility to care for both their parents and children. As the parents age and face the complications associated with aging, more stress is put on the family and the adolescent.
Adolescents are also affected by the physical and emotional changes in parents resulting from deployment experiences (including possible health issues of traumatic brain injury, physical disease/injury, memory loss, difficulty with reintegration into a civilian society, etc.). As parents change because of their experience, it follows that this would transfer to their parenting as well as their relationships with their children [21]. Although there has been more attention focused on military families in the past few years, there is still a gap in knowledge related to the effect of parental injury and traumatic experience on adolescents. Implications for further research in this area include an exploration of parenting with PTSD. Additional research can give voice to adolescent experiences, the attachment and/or individuation of adolescents, the adolescent experience of the stresses of parental absence, and the emotional effects on adolescents when parents are changed by their experiences.
In a positive trajectory, future research can be focused on those adolescents and military families who were enriched by the deployment experience. There is some evidence that for a minority of the population, deployment served to create family relationships that were closer and more meaningful [7], [14]. Lessons learned of how deployment became a catalyst for more meaningful discussion about life in general, positive role modeling with caregivers, increased closeness with parents, and personal strength can be explored [7].
Risk factors associated with military families include relocation, deployment, war-induced PTSD, and post-deployment reintegration [26]. Because the military is composed of an all-volunteer force, parents have made a conscious choice to continue in this career as their children grow into adolescents. The fact that it is by choice may cause the adolescent to think that the parent is choosing the military over their family. Although this has been tangentially mentioned in some studies [8], [14], no research into understanding this factor has been explored in relation to deployment, parenting, and adolescent development.
Military, family, and community supports help mitigate family stress during periods of deployment [27]. Health care providers can be sensitive to the life-changing experiences on the family of parental deployment in wartime and potential health or behavioral concerns when treating veterans and their families. Assessment of family relationships, adolescent maturation, and parenting issues provides further support for military families. Crucially an assessment of extended support beyond the family – school, military community, local community, ethnic/religious support networks, extended family and friends, makes a difference in creating a healthy environment for the adolescent to become successful in their journey toward independence, autonomy, and maturation into adulthood. Additionally, National Guard and Reserve military families may be distant from their military unit and the adolescent may not have a military peer group or community with which to process shared experiences [28]. However, the military in general has been at the forefront of providing services for military families in the last few years with a central source for information (Military One Source) and Congress providing the Yellow Ribbon Program to support pre- and post-deployment needs.
Conclusions
Military families today are different in that they are not always the stereotypical nuclear family of parents and children. They mirror today's society and are composed of varying types of relationships – grandparents, single parents, teen pregnancy/off-spring, relationships with ex-spouses, siblings, step/half siblings, extended family living together, homosexual relationships within the family, adoptions, multicultural differences, etc. The role of the parent-soldier, existing within the context of a military culture, influences family development and potentially places children at risk for maladjustment; most vulnerable will be children at risk with concomitant risk factors, such as child abuse, family violence, or parental substance abuse [29]. Supporting each family will be based on an understanding of the unique dynamics and circumstances for the individual adolescent.
Parental absence stresses the family system. This does not mean that parents should not deploy, but that special needs exist for those military members and their families. Overall military children have been known to be very resilient and adaptable [27], [30] and even though school-aged children often experienced negative behaviors in response to a parent's deployment, these behaviors generally improved over time [31]. Many men and women answer the call to military service, and the contributions and sacrifices that they and their families make are indeed worthy of critical examination and support.
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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not reflect the views or official position of the Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
PII: S1054-139X(09)00703-4
doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.12.019
© 2010 Society for Adolescent Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Refers to article:
- The Impact of Parental Deployment on Child Social and Emotional Functioning: Perspectives of School Staff , 25 December 2009
