Despite the length of the current wars in Iran and Afghanistan, little is known about the impact of multiple deployments of military personnel on their families, particularly children. While it is widely accepted that deployment is a period of transition for military families and that it is a source of potential stress, there has been minimal information on how it affects the resilience and well-being of non-deployed caregivers and children.
Recently, Pediatrics: Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, published the results of a study of more than 1500 children of military families. The participants, aged 11 to 17 years, and their non-deployed caregivers contributed information that helped researchers assess the experience of deployment for children and how it varies according to the length of deployment and military service. Not surprisingly, children in the study had more emotional difficulties when compared to similar national samples.
Two overall conclusions were drawn from this study. First, children and families that experienced more total months of parental deployment [in other words, from multiple deployment-reintegration cycles] may benefit from intervention to deal with stress and trauma that occur over time. Second, caregivers who experience mental health difficulties may benefit from interventions that support both caregivers and children. Additional findings produced more detailed characteristics of children’s responses by age and gender, including:
• Gender has an impact on stress responses reintegration. In general, girls had more problems with the reintegration period; this may be explained by the gender-specific roles that girls play in a household when the military parent is away, such as helping with chores or difficulties teens may have relating to their fathers.
• Age is a factor in stress responses to the deployment-reintegration cycle. Older children (middle and later adolescence) may be experiencing more problems than younger children when it comes to parental deployment and reintegration because they may experience a greater shift in caretaking roles during the deployment-reintegration cycle.
• Living on a military base makes a difference. There are notable differences in the deployment experience, based on environment; those living on a military base seem to have fewer deployment challenges than those living in housing away from a military base.
• Caregivers’ stress responses affect children’s responses. Finally, caregivers’ mental health is associated with children’s reports of stress and challenges; a parent under stress may exacerbate a child’s stress responses during deployment and reintegration.
Of course, the current findings are limited by the participant pool and other circumstances that influenced data collection. Nevertheless this study provides vital information that has been previously unavailable to help us understand the impact that the deployment-reintegration cycle has on children and families. It supplies a basis for future study of stress responses, identifying children and family members most at risk, and developing interventions to address the unique needs of these children.
From July 13th–16th 2010, the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children Annual Childhood Trauma Practitioners Assembly will address the growing challenge children and families of the military face due to multiple deployments. This annual gathering of trauma experts will focus on best practices and practical strategies for how to address the stress of deployment-reintegration cycles and how to enhance resilience in children and their families. Be sure to mark your calendar and join other trauma specialists at this event to learn about current interventions to address these challenges in schools, community agencies, and mental health services, and find out more about cutting edge resources that can be used to support and help military families. Look for more information from TLC Executive Director and founder Dr. William Steele and Program Director Caelan Kuban, LMSW, soon.
Be well,
Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT
Resources
You can download a free PDF version of the Pediatrics report on children from the home front here.
Also see “Multiple Deployments Take a Toll on Military Families and Children” from the Trauma and Children blog archives here.
Reference
“Children on the homefront: The experience of children from military families.” (2009). Anita Chandra, Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, Lisa H. Jaycox, Terri Tanielian, Rachel M. Burns, Teague Ruder, & Bing Han, in Pediatrics published online Dec 7, 2009.
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The subject of the impact of deployments on these children is certainly an important topic. Nonetheless, it seems we must look further than this now since so many military are being deployed time and again to a war zone. As a result, many are also returning with significant physical and mental injuries that ultimately impact the children as well. As a result, this clinical social worker, who has worked with military members and their families overseas who experienced both normal deployments and those associated with the war zone, chose, in “The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Relationship: How to Support Your Partner and Keep Your Relationship Healthy,” (designated one of the “BEST BOOKS OF 2009” by the “Library Journal”), to include a chapter that discusses the potential impact of the behavior of a parent changed by PTSD on the children. Perhaps you are already dealing with this, too? However, if this is not the case, it seems to be an important topic. Also, let me say that while we know some of the returning warriors struggle with remorse about having been killers in the war zone, some of their children may have difficulty dealing with the image of the parent as a killer, too. At least, I have seen this in some children of Vietnam War veterans—that they still struggle with this today,
Thanks for your comment, Diane, and mention of your book. You may also want to take a look at TLC’s Structured Sensory Intervention by Dr. Steele and my latest book, Creative Interventions with Traumatized Children. Are you using somatic and sensory approaches with the children you see from military families. We would be interested in hearing more about your experiences.