The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in parentification in military families with a deployed parent and without a deployed parent. Previous research has highlighted increased rates of parentification in situations involving parental absence or unavailability, such as divorce, parental illness, parental alcoholism, and domestic violence. This construct was assessed using the Parentification Questionnaire - Youth, a 20 item self-report survey for children and adolescents. Participants consisted of 22 children, ages 7-17, from military families with a deployed parent and military families without a deployed parent. After removing two statistical outliers from the intact military families group, an independent samples t-test was conducted. It was found that there was a significant difference between military families with a deployed parent and military families without a deployed parent. Military families with a deployed parent had higher rates of parentification than military families without a deployed parent. Limitations include a small sample size due to time constraints, the possible presence of one or both parents during the questionnaire, and lack of control groups. Future research should include a larger sample size, increase the comparison to more family groups (i.e. civilian, divorced, separated by work), and assess possible positive or negative impacts of parentification on military children from families separated by deployment.

This study was designed to explore the differences between locus of control (LOC) in children from civilian and military families and to investigate whether military deployment is associated with an external locus of control more than other family dynamics. The literature has focused on the negative implications of external LOC for children’s mental health and achievement as well as in childhood chronic illness, parental absence, and parental alcoholism. However, prior research regarding this construct related to children of military families is significantly lacking. In the present study, LOC was measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children, a 40 question scale designed for individuals within the range of 3rd to 12th grade. The 54 participants in this study ranged in age from 7 to 17 and came from either a military family with a deployed parent, a civilian family with two caregivers in the home, or a divorced - separated civilian family. A univariate one-way ANOVA was conducted on the data. It was found that children of deployed military families did not score significantly different for mean locus of control than civilian separated/divorced families, or civilian intact families. A correlation comparing age and LOC scores found no significant relationship. Limitations of this study included a small sample size due to time restrictions, and subsequently reduced statistical power. Future investigations into LOC should continue to explore its relationship with children in military families, as future studies correcting for sampling may obtain significant results. Further research should also probe more deeply into the negative and positive consequences that external and internal attributional tendencies may have for children’s development, academic performance, and overall well-being.

Veteran suicide is a public health issue that requires more research to understand the multidimensional factors, such as resilience, that lead someone to suicide. Adverse childhood events (ACEs), such as poverty and abuse, have affected how resilience is developed. This study examined the association between childhood factors of socioeconomic status, parental discipline, and being a military child, and adult resiliency level. Dienstbier's theory of mental toughness framed the study, which posits that a child who experiences mild ACEs and has time to recover between events, will be more resilient than children who experience serious ACEs, and children who experience little to no ACEs. Army veterans recruited through social media and veterans' organizations, answered an online survey consisting of demographic questions, the Harsh Discipline Scale and 9 item Resiliency Scale. No significant associations were found between these ACEs and resilience level. However, when the harsh discipline scale was analyzed by individual questions, associations were shown between spanking and high resilience with reported answers of "almost always" having higher level of resilience (OR = 12.001, p = .032), and those who reported they were hit with an object scored much lower on resilience than any other category measured. Examining resilience questions individually showed that low and middle socio-economic status had statistically significant higher resilience in responding to extreme pressure in a positive way. More research is needed on these specific ACEs using Dienstbier's theory. Understanding how specific ACEs affect resilience could lead to developing better prevention strategies that focus on helping children process these ACEs and develop higher resilience as adults, thus reducing suicide in the civilian and veteran population.

There are an estimated 1.2 million children with one or both parents enlisted in military service. These children are more geographically mobile than civilian children on average, and previous research suggests that mobility can have great effects on an individual's academic performance. This study seeks to answer the question: How does the standardized test performance of Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools compare to those of public schools with high concentrations of military children (funded by Impact Aid). It is hypothesized that due to higher average levels of funding, a standard curriculum, and both embedded and intentional social support, DoDEA schools will have higher standardized test scores than public schools with high concentrations of military children. Consistent with previous literature that finds a standardized test bias in favor of white students, it is also hypothesized that schools that are located in ZIP Codes with high percentages of Black and Hispanic residents will have lower test scores. This research will contribute to a growing body of literature on childhood migration, as well as the literature focused on the effects of the military on personnel's families and children. Through a series of bivariate correlations and nested regression analyses, I find that Impact Aid schools had higher percentages of students proficient in reading, math, and science than DoDEA schools. ZIP Code Tabulation Area measures of racial and ethnic composition, as reported in the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2007- 2011), were statistically significant predictors of proficiency in reading and math. As the percentage of non-White community composition increased, the percentage of students proficient in reading and math decreased (β = -11.328*, p ≤ .05). Controlling for these community-level variables still resulted in higher overall standardized test proficiency in Impact Aid schools

Many studies have been conducted on military families in order to determine the effect of parent absence and frequent family moves on the academic adjustment and emotional well-being of children. Research has shown that environmental factors, such as parents coping abilities, social support, length of deployment, frequency of moves, and preparation for deployments or moves can influence the effects children experience due to deployments and relocations. Children of military families can be resilient and successful in school during deployment and moves. / text

Military children have been a population of interest and research speculation for several decades. Despite the research base built studying this population, many questions remain regarding their specific experiences and mental health outcomes. To accommodate the nation's needs when fueling the armed forces by the all volunteer force currently comprising the service branches, many military personnel have found themselves in circumstances including multiple deployments and deployments of lengths approximately equal to one year. With family relationships now a more prominent issue for military members, the necessity of considering the effects of deployment on these family members has become especially pertinent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the way increased exposure to technology affects children’s deployment outcomes in today's military culture, especially in their deployment experiences. Participants included 71 parents and 20 children in military families currently or within the past year experiencing a deployment. Participants were divided into two phases for completion of study tasks. Phase one participants, 20 children and one of their parents, completed interviews, emotional/behavioral measures, and a deployment experiences survey. The 51 parent participants in Phase two completed only the deployment experiences survey. Evaluation of data presented from participants provided insight into the deployment experiences of these families as impacted by the technological advances in communication and media today. Results indicated a range of positive effects related to technologically supported communication between parents and children throughout deployment. Families participating in increased parental communication during deployment showed relationships to decreases in ambiguous loss symptoms, increases in positive attitudes including growth and maturity, and smooth reintegration following deployment. Despite increases in availability, news exposure reported from children occurred at a low incidence rate. Regardless, negative reactions to news viewing was reported.

This study extracted descriptive information and analyzed content in 23 children's books related to military deployment using a coding instrument entitled, “Military Bibliotherapy Coding Instrument for Children's Books,” developed for this study. Additionally, the content from the books was compared to themes found in current research literature. The books were not as racially diverse as the military population. Books for black children are underrepresented with only 8% of books having black characters compared to the 16.9% black population in active duty military service. The most prevalent response to the deployment of a loved one described is sadness with 65% of the books describing this response. Finding ways to keep the main character and the deployed person connected is the most prevalent coping strategy described in the books (82%). A surprising find is that pride in the deployed person's military service is described as a coping strategy in some of the books although it was not found in the research literature. All phases of deployment were described with the exception of reintegration. No books addressed this important phase of deployment. Information from this analysis will assist parents, educators and mental health professionals in selecting books for bibliotherapy use that align with the unique circumstances and characteristics of military children. Information presented will also inform and encourage publishers to seek out and publish books to more adequately meet the demographics and meet the unique experiences faced by military children.

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