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Barbara Cohoon, PhD, RN Deputy Director of Government Relations National Military Family Association July 13, 2010

Barbara Cohoon, PhD, RN Deputy Director of Government Relations National Military Family Association July 13, 2010. Children on the Homefront: The experience of children from Military Families . National Military Family Association. The Voice for Military Families

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Barbara Cohoon, PhD, RN Deputy Director of Government Relations National Military Family Association July 13, 2010

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  1. Barbara Cohoon, PhD, RN Deputy Director of Government Relations National Military Family Association July 13, 2010 Children on the Homefront: The experience of children from Military Families

  2. National Military Family Association • The Voice for Military Families • Speak up for Military Families • Empower Military Families • Meet the Needs of Military Families

  3. What you need to know in our 9th year of war about our Nation’s Military Families • Demographics • Spouses • Children • Ten things military teens want you to know • War • Transition • Community • Single service members and Reserve component

  4. What you need to know in our 9th year of war about our Nation’s Military Families • Risk Factors • Individual Augmentee (IA) • Newly married • Young mothers • Special needs • Dual service • Pregnant • Single parent • History of mental health • Financial issues • Veteran status

  5. Our Association’s Research, Children on the Homefront: The experience of children from military families • Gain a better understanding of the phenomena • Study questions • How are school-age military children faring? • What types of issues do military children face related to deployment? • Study sample and methodology

  6. How Are Military Children Faring Compared to Other U.S. Children? Peer relationships Academic engagement Functioning at or above U.S. average Functioning below U.S. average Emotional difficulties Family relationships Anxiety

  7. Military Children Reported Anxiety Symptoms

  8. Military Children Reported Emotional Difficulties

  9. Impact of Deployment

  10. Age and Gender Differences Were Comparable to Civilian Studies • Older youth had more difficulties with academic engagement and risk behaviors • Older youth had fewer anxiety symptoms • Girls report more anxiety symptoms

  11. Older Teens Experienced More Difficulties • During deployment • Taking on household responsibilities • Taking care of siblings • Missing school activities • During reintegration • Getting to know returning parent again • Adjusting to returning parent fitting back into home routine • Dealing with returning parent’s mood changes

  12. Girls Reported More DifficultiesDuring Reintegration

  13. Longer Periods of Parental Deployment Were Associated with More Problems for Children • As months of parental deployment increased, so did challenges • Total months away mattered more than number of deployments • Did not observe differences by service, component, or current deployment

  14. Non-Deployed Parent’s Mental Health Mattered • Children experienced fewer: • Challenges during and after deployment • Emotional difficulties • Peer and family functioning issues • Challenges with academic engagement

  15. Youth Reported Deployment Challenges Dealing with life without DP Helping caregiver deal with life without DP Not having people understand what deployment is like Feeling misunderstood by people in your school, community Missing school activities due to transportation issues Feeling like you had no one to talk to about feeling sad, stress 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 DP= Deployed Parent Percent %

  16. Parent Reported Deployment Challenges Taking on more responsibilities at home/caring for children Helping child deal with life without DP Feeling like people in my community don'tget what life is like for me Spending more time with child on homework Talking to teachers about child schoolbehavior or performance Feeling like I had no one to talk to aboutstress, sadness Losing contact with other military families No longer spending time with othermilitary families 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 DP= Deployed Parent Percent (%)

  17. Youth and Parent Reported Reintegration Challenges Fitting DP back in home routine Worrying about the next deployment Dealing with DP mood changes Getting to know DP again Figuring out who to turn to for advice Key: Youth, Parent 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 70 Percent (%) DP= Deployed Parent

  18. Implications for Helping Military Families • Families facing longer deployments may need targeted support • Older teens • Girls • Supports need to be in place across entire deployment cycle, including reintegration • Some non-deployed parents may need targeted mental health support • Communities must show they care

  19. Next Steps for the Study • Followed the same children and parents over period of one year, analysis ongoing • Do effects of parental deployment on child mental health intensify or diminish over time? • Preliminary analyses confirm earlier findings • The longer a parent is away, the more it matters for child’s mental health • Effects are greatest for older teens and girls • Conducted assessment of non-deployed parents

  20. Other Research Reinforces Findings • Deployment and the Use of Mental Health Services among U.S. Army Wives by Mansfield, Kaufman, et al. (2010) • The Effects of Multiple Deployments on Army Adolescents by Wong and Gerras (2010) • The Long War: Deployment Effects Children and Families by Lester, Peterson, et al. (2010)

  21. What is Our Association Doing? • Enhanced our programs • Held our Summit • Streamlining access to care and support • Investing in the resilience • Developing a Blueprint for Action • Engaging in a national conversation focused on military families • Building partnerships and seek commitments • Creating Community Toolkit

  22. Summit Blueprint for Action Items • Broaden and strengthen civilian community engagement • Create programs that reflect your local families • Respite care • Strengthen support for targeted military services • Screening • Mental health • Family readiness • Anti-stigma campaign

  23. How Do We Use Findings to Enhance the Strength of Military Families? • How do we target programs to meet the needs of families of school age children while not diminishing support for families with younger children? • How do we engage those who interact with older youth, especially girls, with additional information and resources? • How do we foster relationships between deployed parents, at-home caregivers, and older children to facilitate healthy reintegration? • How do we help caregivers of older children and youth strike a work/life balance? • How do we engage caring communities and citizens in showing their support for military families?

  24. What Are Your Thoughts, Best Practices? • What action will you take? • What can we do to keep the 70% of families who are doing well resilient? • What programs, practices have been made by you to make our military families stronger?

  25. Contact Us • Barbara Cohoon, PhD, RN • Deputy Director of Government Relations • BCohoon@MilitaryFamily.org • 703.931.6632 ext. 322 • www.MilitaryFamily.org • http://www.militaryfamily.org/publications/deployment-family-research/toolkits.html • http://www.militaryfamily.org/publications/deployment-family-research/transitions-teens-guide.html

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