As of April 12, 2015, excluding the U.S. Coast Guard, there are nearly 1.2 million active duty U.S. military personnel (Demographics of Active Duty U.S. Military, 2015). Approximately half of these men and women have a spouse and/or children that they must say goodbye to once they are deployed and deployment can last four to fifteen months. The deployment of military personnel adversely affects their families by causing negative emotional and/or behavioral changes, continuously altering the framework of the family dynamic, and by increasing the risk factors for divorce upon their post-deployment reintegration. Deployment of a parent and/or spouse can cause a myriad of behavioral and/or emotional changes in the family members left behind. The stress of deployment on the spouse left at home can cause mental health issues that have a negative impact on their relationship with their child(ren) and their parenting practices (Swenson & Wolff, 2011). Subsequently, a spouse left to parent and carry on alone for months on end may begin to feel the weight of their compounded responsibilities, the fear for their spouse’s safety, and the heartache of loneliness in such a deep way that depression, insomnia, and anxiety lead them to needing medication and/or therapy. The children in these families have no control over the situation and in addition to their own pshychological reactions have a deep sense of helplessness in regards to their military parent’s safety, the parent
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
Many people are concerned about the U.S. military because of how many risks come with joining it. However, the U.S. military also explains the benefits that one could receive. Joining the military is a decision that should not be taken lightly. One must understand all aspects of the military. In order for a voter to be fully informed about joining the US military, one must consider both the risks, like mental illnesses and commitment and benefits, like education, and experience.
The authors concluded that the shorter that dwell time, the harder it is for military families to maintain a stable relationship. The authors also provided helpful information on family support and how stress factors can be reduced when military families come across deployment.
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.
A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that children from military families have a higher risk of social, emotional and behavioral problems such as anxiety, depression and suicide ideation. Other reports have shown that military families also have a high rates of domestic violence, child abuse and spousal abuse. The immense strains and pressures of the military lifestyle create inconsistencies in the lives of military families that are often overlooked by those considering joining the military. Over the years the U.S government and other organizations have been doing ample research into family health in the military and effectively identifying and addressing critical issues that are faced by military families. Speaking from
Deployments play a major role and are a real part of serving in the military. Some men deploy for a few months, most leave for over a year, and others deploy at higher rates, but for shorter amounts of time. During and after these times away from home, Foran et al. (2013) notes that it is crucial in making close relationships with fellow military member and to reach out to family to ensure an increase in personal conflict is less likely (p 154). According to Riggs and Sermanian (2012), the strength of the leadership within the unit and how they handle the various traumatic circumstances the service members encounter, may significantly contribute to the degree of the individuals PTSD severity over time (p 18). But when it comes to service members seeking help while deployed, it is very unlikely.
Many military members along with their children face many factors that contributes to stress, such as relocations, daycare issues, work related issues and deployments, to name a few. Many times children are left with one to no parents because of deployments. When a parent returns home, the family may have to deal with different changes and challenges. One of the biggest challenges they may have to deal with is being diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Military families and children can better understand and live a more healthier life if know they what PSTD is, how common it is for children to experience it, the effects of PTSD, the kinds of behaviors children may demonstrate and the intervention programs available to deal
Military children are in a league of their own, and at very young ages are thrown into situations of great stress. Approximately 1.2 million children live in the U.S. Military families (Kelly. 2003) and at least 700,000 of them have had at least one parent deployed (Johnson et al. 2007). Every child handles a deployment differently, some may regress in potty training, and others may become extremely aggressive. Many different things can happen, in most cases when a parent deploys and the child becomes difficult to handle, it can cause a massive amount of stress on the parent that is not deployed as well as added stress on the parent who is deployed. There are three stages of a deployment, pre-deployment, deployment, and reintegration,
An article titled "How Deployment Stress Affects Children and Families: Research Findings" estimated that “by the end of 2008, 1.7 million American Service Members had served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF).” Each person is different. They experience and interpret situations unique to their personality that varies depending on the person, but war produces the same problems for members of the nuclear family. War creates a cloud of worry and anxiety. “Parents of [military personnel] often have misgivings (Lediaev).” These reservations and
More than 1.9 million service members were deployed to the Iraq (OIF) and Afghanistan (OEF) wars and it is estimated that in 2014 that of those deployed “42% had children; 37.4% were aged 0-5, 31.1% aged 6-11; 24.4% aged 12-18; 7.1% aged 19-22” (Office of the deputy assistant secretary of defense, 2015, p., 119, 212). These men and woman came home, had to reintegrate into civilian life and possibly suffered from mental health disorders and/or bodily injuries including TBI. The children and family members of those that serviced were also at risk of being impacted psychologically and possibly physically as a result of the deployment and the impact of war on their family member. This paper examined the cost of war on the children of military personnel and veterans that served in combat as it relates to complex trauma.
Studies involving military members is ever increasing among researchers. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illnesses military members are diagnosed with are closely studied to gain better knowledge on how these diagnoses develop and how these diagnoses can be treated through counseling services and medication (Owens et al. 2014). Substance use is increasing amongst military members and many studies have conducted research on this topic. Military families endure different stressors than a typical family encounters. For example: deployments and separation from their families, constantly moving from one duty station to another every two to four years, work related stress, trainings, marriage, divorce, children, living
Many military service members do not want to be labeled as mentally ill, and result as a persistent stigma within the military. Serving in the military have certain pride there, in other words, soldiers should be able to do their duty without having those issues. Multiple deployments have resulted and led to significant emotional, behavioral, social and psychological problems to soldiers. A research study found that soldiers in the military with a deployed parent showed a 19 percent increase in behavioral disorders. Although treatment can take a long time, which may explain the high dropout rate, approximately about two thirds of soldiers with symptoms of PTSD and major depression did not seek help or care between 2002 and 2011. A research
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.
One way to accomplish this is through answering research questions related to military family life, such as “How do multiple deployments, multiple moves and other military lifestyle factors affect the development of attachment in military children?” and “What is the long-term impact on military children who have experienced multiple deployments, relocations and other life-disrupting events associated with military life?” As America continues to send service members to the Middle East in the midst of the longest military conflict in its history, gaining an understanding of the long-term impact on this generation of military children is crucial to aid in the development of programs and resources with the hope of ameliorating the challenges they have encountered. Additionally, the answers to these research questions may assist in identifying protective and risk factors and increase positive outcomes for these children as they grow into
When a parent is deployed to serve at war, a child faces many hardships in his well-being. The main problem is that early children face many social, emotional, and physical problems when a parent goes to war and returns with a health issue. Children under age of five are developing negative behaviors, for example Home Front Alert: The Risk Facing Young Children In Military Families states that “children in military families with a deployed parent may experience stress, anxiety, and difficult coping, as well as academic problems” (Murphey, 2013, p. 4). This reveals that absent parents are not fulfilling the child’s cognitive needs, which plays an important in their health. Thus, children