Military Family Challenges

Combat veterans are among the highest at risk for issues in transitioning form military life to civilian. Many potentially suffer from both physical and/or mental traumas. Many veterans and even active duty services members have allowed the unofficial culture of if you need mental or medical help you are weak. Many military families are also afraid of utilizing family support mechanisms out of fear of

To summarize (Kaplow, Layne, Saltztman, Cozza & Pynoos, 2013, p. 322-340) this article looks at how grief through exposure to loss due to combat fights, loss of fellow unit members, or the loss of a service member can affect a service member or military family during deployment and reintegration phases. The article goes on to discuss some of the stresses that can increase due to deployments such as martial conflicts, abuse or neglect, and mental health problems stemming from both spouses or children. More military children function equally as well as their civilian counterparts, except during times of deployment where they experience more emotional and behavioral problems. The article looks at three key areas Separation distress characterized as missing the deceased. Existential/Identity Distress finding meaning or fulfillment, or taking on roles left by the deceased. Circumstance-Related Distress characterized as emotional pain brought on by how the deceased passed. The article furthermore looks into how the age of the military children plays into their separation distress. Followed by their existential/identity Distress may be disrupted by new

The main point of this article is about service members deployed specifically to Iraq and Afghanistan with back to back deployments and the stress factors that it produces on the families and the service members themselves.

There is a large amount of military families around the world. About Forty- three percent of active military members have children (Website). These children face so many challenges and struggles in their life while having a parent in the military. Children of Active duty military members exhibit anxiety, depression and stress just as much as the service members and spouses experience. For instance the children experience going through multiple deployments, long separations, frequent moves and awkward reunions when their parents return home from deployment. Even more so if the parent has been physically or mentally traumatized from overseas.

Intro: There are almost two and a half million Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF ), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation New Dawn (OND) veterans in the United States (DoD, 2014). Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are signature wounds of these military operations, and are commonly referred to as “invisible wounds of war” (Tanielian et al 2008, from bello have another?-). OEF, OIF, and OND consisted of the longest and most frequent deployments in U.S. History with forty-eight percent of veterans having served at least two deployments (DoD, 2013). Children’s and non-deployed parent’s ability to cope and adapt to the deployment decreases as the length and frequency of deployments increase (Chandra, Martin, Hawkins, & Richardson, 2010; Lester et al., 2010). Children 's and partner 's stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression increase as the length of their loved one 's deployment increases (Gorman, Blow, Ames, & Reed, 2011; Mansfield, Kaufman, Engel, & Gaynes, 2011; Lester et al, 2010). Support from within the military branches, Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, extended family, health care providers, schools, and other social infrastructues/institutions within the community is critical for healthy family functioning and the future of military-connected children (MC).

Mental health services and programs designed to help with deployment and reintegration are underutilized by NG/R families (Gorman et. al, 2011). The stigma of appearing weak is a perceived barrier for NG/R spouses. NG/R spouses are more likely to receive care from physicians and mental health professionals in their local community (Gorman et al., 2011). If the community does not have a large military presence, providers may not have the experience or understanding necessary to address the special challenges faced by NG/R family. NG/R spouses cited cost, taking time off from work and limited access to treatment facilities and military support systems as barriers to their care (Gorman et al., 2011; Kees et al., 2015). Rural communities were islands

While many articles look at military children and how they cope with deployments this article (Cozza & Lerner, 2013, p. 3-11) examines the resilience of military children so that professionals can better understand military children as a whole child not just a child during and post deployment. This article also looks at how military children need to have policies and programs that are designed to meet their developing needs. The article further goes on to look at how professionals need incorporate the strengths of military children and the strengths they bring to their military families, so they can cope with the challenges that arise in their lives. This article points out that many children exposed to traumatic events tend to be healthier. Then the article discusses how overgeneralization of military children and families can hurt how programs and policies are enacted to benefit military children and families. It also looks at even though military pay has improved the wages of a military spouse are much lower than their civilian counterparts. A look at how the youngest of military children are the most vulnerable, how there needs to be more childcare as well as community support programs. Concluding with how we can gain insight and learn from the resilience and strengths that military children and military families

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) has affected service members and their families more adversely than previous wars. Many members are coming home with increasingly severe serious injuries and trauma-related mental health needs, specifically co-occurring Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) (Flynn and Hassan 2010; Frey et al. 2014). SUD refers to all substances that can be abused, including alcohol. Military culture makes it hard to address these issues because of the stigma attached to having mental health issues. Studying Military families as a whole opposed to just the service member is a new concept in military culture, researchers are finding that treating the whole family

Most military families face the possibility of a loved one returning to service which can also cause a great deal of fear and unpredictability within the family. Studies also prove that family members struggle with emotional distress and children often have behavioral issues as a result of parents deployed to serve in the military. “The strain of war deployment with associated risk that the service member may be harmed or killed, adds to the stressors inherent in military family life, even in times of peace” (Link, P. E., & Palinkas, L. A. (2013). This also suggest that family separations due to irregular tours and training deployments. Often impact the relationships in the family and can change the family dynamics often leaving one caregiver with a majority of the responsibility of raising a family. The military culture can adversely affect family functioning with inflexible hierarchical relationships, expectations and of obeying rules and

When working with a family who has their first deployment, it is important to help reinforce their ability to respond to the challenges they may encounter throughout the deployment cycle. Deployment has been may have an impact on parent-child interactions for those who are deployed, as well as for caregivers remaining at home. It is important to provide psychoeducation on the impact the deployment may have on the family, such as separation and transitions, relationship challenges, mental health difficulties and substance abuse. It is important to educate and provide resources regarding this because research indicated that the role of parenting practices in the relationship between family stressors can have a direct impact on the child behavioral/emotional problems (Palmer, 2008). I would also provide resources on Family Service Centers, such as the Navy Fleet and Family Support Center. These centers can provide support and education about resiliency and military life. Child Serv, which is an organization piloting the Military Family Initiative, is another resource that would be helpful as it offers services for early childhood education and family counseling to military members and their

What do military families truly endure to maintain a relationship despite constant time apart during deployments? Husbands and wives are often forced to fill each others role while the other is away. When a parent is not used to being around a child it is hard to know to act and react to the child’s actions. All members of a military family can face some form of post traumatic stress disorder due to the unnatural lifestyle that is lived daily. Deployments cause military families to struggle more so than nonmilitary families due to role reversals, added child maltreatment and PTSD.

Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common among children with a deployed military parent. Adolescents of military parents are facing adverse emotional and behavioral disorders as a consequence of a parent’s deployment. According to a retrospective cohort study, stress disorders increase by 18% and behavioral disorders increase by 19% among children who have a deployed military parent. This study, which was performed by cross-referencing the records of children of active-duty personnel with their parents’ deployment records, additionally found that mental and behavioral health visits were increased by 11% amid children with a deployed parent (Gorman, Eide, & Hisle-Gorman, 2010). Moreover, children of caregivers with poorer mental health are at an elevated risk of having poorer mental health themselves (House, Committee on Armed Services, United States, Subcommittee on Military Personnel, & Congress, 2010). For children who sacrifice so much to support their service

Deployment and integration are one the greatest challenges military families and children have to face on a daily basis. When a family member deploys or reintegrates within the entire family, it not only affects the service member but it affects the entire family. Deployment can often lead to families and children, experiencing a negative mental health outcomes and compromised wellbeing. Bello (2015) found that most families and children (80.5% required less than one month to adjust to the return of their deployed parent (Bello, 2015). Accordingly, the families and children are often quick to adjust to having their family member back in the home. Interestingly, discoveries are surprising in light of the fact that when contrasted to another family, the discoveries are definitely unique. Boberiene (2014) found that three out of every four families feel that reintegration after the first three months is the most stressful phase of a deployment (Boberiene, 2014). This is because the family experiences many emotions while the member is away.

As a former military wife, I have a plethora of experience working with military families and children. My experiences working with military families in Hawaii, New Mexico, and Colorado and being a part of a military family have influenced both my personal and professional life. In my principal internship I worked with the military family life support counselor to aid in supporting the academic and emotional growth and health of many military families served in our school. As a former military wife, I know how hard deployments can be and this have given me empathy and understanding of the military lifestyle. My students at Air Academy High School are confident and comfortable confiding in me about their struggles as a loved one deploys or

This article focuses on family dynamics with military families who because of being deployed for long periods of time, are going through custody battles. They face distinct stresses that must be taken into account when they enter the legal system. This current day and time the military is not all men anymore, it’s now largely diverse with women. With this in mind some children are faced with both parents having to be deployed and maybe put into the grandparent’s custody. Courts are seeing more divorces and custody battles. When a spouse has to be deployed for months at a time up to a year it can put major strains on not only the caregiver, but the entire family. The adjustment to deployment or reintegration can be traumatic, especially if preexisting