The Military Family in Review: Context, Risk, and Prevention

doi:10.1016/S0002-7138(09)60230-2

Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry

Volume 25, Issue 2, March 1986, Pages 225-234

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-7138(09)60230-2 Get rights and content

The authors review the research literature concerning the prevalence of psychosocial dysfunction in military families and describe background factors affecting the incidence of dysfunction in military settings. They review available research concerning specific risk factors, including father absence, war and combat stress, geographic mobility, retirement, cross-cultural family constellations, and authoritarian military structure. They discuss variables that may mediate the effects of these risk factors, describe preventive principles and approaches, and clarify issues requiring further investigation.

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Cited by (52)

The causal effects of Vietnam-era military service on post-war family dynamics
2013, Social Science Research
Citation Excerpt :
Since LaGrone (1978), researchers have investigated the effect of the so-called “military family” characterized by “authoritarian fathers, depressed mothers, and out-of-control children” (Palmer, 2008: 205). Factors such as frequent relocation, father’s absence during deployment, and the strain of PTSD following mobilization have linked military service to behavioral problems in the children of veterans (Jensen et al., 1986, 1991; LaGrone, 1978; Palmer, 2008). On the other hand, military service has been associated with an opportunity for self-improvement for men of disadvantaged backgrounds (Elder, 1986; Elder et al., 1991), the mitigation of racial inequalities (Lundquist, 2006a, 2006b), and increased marital stability (Call and Teachman, 1991, 1996).
Past work has suggested a lasting impact of military service on the lives of veterans. By intervening at a critical stage in the lives of young men, service may open up opportunities for disadvantaged youth. In contrast, the negative consequences of exposure to combat may offset these presumed advantages. Induction into the military is also a nonrandom process that makes identifying the effects of service exceedingly difficult. In this study we use an instrumental variable (IV) approach to model the causal impact of Vietnam-era military service on two outcomes, marital stability and co-residence with adult offspring. We find limited evidence to suggest that military service may have a lasting effect on family life. In particular, we find that service reduces the probability of marital dissolution for white men. Service also significantly increases the probability of filial co-residence for men of other races.
Adjustment among youth in military families: The protective roles of effortful control and maternal social support
2009, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
This study examined coping, effortful control, and mental health among 65 youth (ages 9–15) residing in families where at least one parent was serving in the United States military. Parents provided basic demographic and deployment information. Youth reported on their coping, effortful control, and adjustment using standardized self-report measures. Results indicate that youth residing in military families report elevated levels of conduct problems according to established clinical norms. However, study findings also indicate that effortful control and maternal support act as important protective factors against the development of conduct problems and emotional symptoms, whereas avoidant coping is associated with greater emotional symptoms. No significant differences emerged among youth of recently deployed versus non-deployed parents. Findings are discussed in light of current stressors on military youth and families, and in terms of their implications for successful intervention and prevention programming.
At War in Iraq and Afghanistan: Children in US Military Families
2007, Ambulatory Pediatrics
Internalizing and externalizing behavior of children with enlisted navy mothers experiencing military-induced separation
2001, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
To examine whether children with Navy mothers exhibit higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior than children in civilian families and whether deployment affects children's internalizing and externalizing behavior.
Navy mothers who experienced deployment completed a measure assessing children's internalizing and externalizing behavior before and after a deployment (and at similar intervals for the Navy and civilian comparison groups). Data collection took place between 1996 and 1998.
Navy children with deployed mothers exhibited higher levels of internalizing behavior than children with nondeployed Navy mothers. Navy children whose mothers experienced deployment were more likely to exhibit clinical levels of internalizing behavior than Navy children with nondeployed mothers or civilian children. Group differences, however, were modest and overall mean scores were in the normal range.
Findings do not suggest greater pathology in children of Navy mothers; however, findings do indicate we should be particularly attentive of deployed mothers and their children.
Military Youth and the Deployment Cycle: Emotional Health Consequences and Recommendations for Intervention
2011, Journal of Family Psychology
Military Children and Families: Strengths and Challenges During Peace and War
2011, American Psychologist

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The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.

The authors wish to thank LTC Michael Bain, M.D., for valuable contributions to their understanding of the problems of military families, and Mrs. Rosina Martinez for her careful editing and preparation of the manuscript.

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REVIEW ARTICLEThe Military Family in Review: Context, Risk, and Prevention

J. Pediat.

This Journal

Alcohol and drug abuse among military personnel: prevalence and policy implications

Milit. Med.

Father-fantasies and father-typing in father-separated children

Child Developm.

Impact of father absence on personality factors of children

Amer. J. Orthopsychiat.

Impact of father absence: problems of family reintegration following prolonged father-absence

Amer. J. Orthopsychiat.

Depression in the wives of nuclear submarine personnel

Amer. J. Psychiat.

A ministry to the repeatedly grief-stricken

J. Pastoral Care

Separation: its effects and adaptations

The Chaplain

Waiting wives: women under stress

Amer. J. Psychiat.

Incidence of maladjustment in Vietnam returnees

Arch. Gen. Psychiat.

Family adjustments to war separations and reunions

Ann. Amer. Acad. Political Soc. Sci.

Effect of early father absence on scholastic aptitude

Harvard Educ. Rev.

Communication in the family as a function of stress during war and peace

J. Marriage Fam.

The incidence of child abuse in the United States

Child Welfare

Mixed children: Some observations and speculations

Intermittent absence of fathers and children's perceptions of parents

J. Marriage Fam.

Patient appraisal of current life and social stressors in a military community

Milit. Med.

The adolescent experience in career Army families

Navy families in distress

Milit. Med.

Description of Officers and Enlisted Personnel in the U.S. Armed Forces

Foreign marriages in the military

Psychiat. Quart.

Manifest anxiety of Vietnam returnees and undergraduates

Psychol. Rep.

A comprehensive alcoholism program in the Army

Amer. J. Psychiat.

Family structure and treatment in the military

Family Process

The In-and-out parent: strategies for managing re-entry stress

Milit. Med.

War and Children

Mathematics, quantitative aptitudes, and the masculine role

Dis. Nerv. Syst.

Behavior problems of children in Navy officers' families

Soc. Casewk.

Reactions of children with fathers and brothers in the Armed Forces

Amer. J. Orthopsychiat.

Children at risk: The search for the antecedents of schizophrenia. Part II: Ongoing research programs, issues, and intervention

Schizo. Bull.

Trends in family patterns of U.S. military personnel during the 20th century

Our Family Advocacy Program

U.S. Navy Med.

Hospitalization rates for alcoholism in the Navy and Marine Corps

Dis. Nerv: Syst.

Absent without leave: A study of the military offender

J. Political Mil. Soc.

Families Under Stress: Adjustment to the Crises of War Separation and Reunion

Father absence in military families

The Family Coordinator

Combat casualties who remain at home

Milit. Rev.

The military family syndrome

Amer. J. Psychiat.

Child abuse and neglect among military families

War stress and trauma: the Vietnam veteran experience

J. Hlth. Soc. Behav.

American families and the Vietnam War

J. Marriage Fam.

Child advocacy at Naval Regional Medical Center Portsmouth, VA

U.S. Navy Med.

Alcohol abuse in the armed services: a review; I. Policies and programs

Milit. Med.

REVIEW ARTICLE
The Military Family in Review: Context, Risk, and Prevention