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12-12-2022 | Original Paper

Mental Health of Canadian Military-Connected Children: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Perspectives of Service Providers

Auteurs: Shannon Hill, Ashley Williams, Sarosh Khalid-Khan, Pappu Reddy, Dianne Groll, Lucia Rühland, Heidi Cramm

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies | Uitgave 11/2023

Abstract

The military lifestyle can be defined by a triad of unique stressors: frequent relocation, parental absence, and risk of injury, illness and/or death of a serving member. Research has suggested that this unique triad of stressors can impact the mental health of children and youth living in military families. However, research focusing on the mental health of children and youth living in military families overwhelmingly focuses on the American context. Due to key contextual differences, it is unclear to what extent the American findings are representative of military-connected children and youth living in other geographical contexts, such as Canada. A large qualitative study was conducted to explore the mental health of military-connected children in Canada from three perspectives: child, parent, and service provider. This paper reports on the service provider findings. Using individual semi-structured interviews, data were collected from 11 service providers. Data analysis was guided by qualitative content analysis. Two main themes emerged: (1) the mental health of children living in military families may be impacted by the military lifestyle stressors, and (2) the mental health of children living in military families can be impacted by the accessibility and availability of mental health services. While this qualitative study builds upon recent Canadian work that has considered the service provider perspective, additional research is needed to better understand the experiences of service providers who support military-connected children and youth.

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Titel: Mental Health of Canadian Military-Connected Children: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Perspectives of Service Providers
Auteurs: Shannon Hill
Ashley Williams
Sarosh Khalid-Khan
Pappu Reddy
Dianne Groll
Lucia Rühland
Heidi Cramm
Publicatiedatum: 12-12-2022
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies / Uitgave 11/2023
Print ISSN: 1062-1024
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2843
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02450-7

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