No description available.

Introduction: Child maltreatment continues to be a significant public health concern in civilian and military communities alike. Child maltreatment has profound short and long term negative effects on children and families and is tremendously costly to society. There are several correlates of child maltreatment unique to the military family: deployment of the active duty service member and living in an overseas duty locations.Rationale: The high rate of deployments within the Marine Corps military community in Japan makes these children particularly vulnerable to child maltreatment. Many forms of child maltreatment are most significant in school aged children, and nearly all maltreated children display recognizable signs and symptoms including physical, emotional, and behavioral characteristics, but also academic difficulties which can be best detected by the educator or other school personnel. Thus, the importance of improving school personnel's knowledge regarding the recognition and response of child maltreatment is especially important. Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) teachers, school professionals, and staff with direct student contact spend a significant amount of time with military children and are in a prime position to recognize and respond to at-risk and maltreated children.Purpose/Objective: The purpose of this study was to pilot a web-based child maltreatment tutorial for DoDDS teachers, school professionals and support staff with direct student contact within the Marine Corps community in Japan. The goal was to determine whether these professionals would gain information about child maltreatment in general and specific to the military families in Japan.Methods: Thirty-three eligible school personnel within the DoDDS school district in Japan participated in the study. A pre-test /post-test design was used to determine the effectiveness of the tutorial in increasing participant knowledge of risk factors, signs and symptoms, and reporting procedures for child maltreatment.Results: Findings indicated that participants' post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores (p <0.001). The majority of participants indicated that they liked the format and self-paced nature of the tutorial.Conclusions: This exploratory study demonstrated the effectiveness of a web-based tutorial to disseminate information about child maltreatment in military families.

In the last decade, global instability has led to higher demands placed on military members and their families, especially in the area of deployment. Longer and more frequent deployments have had significant psychological consequences on soldiers who have been deployed. Deployment has also been shown to negatively impact child adjustment; however, the research in this area is limited, particularly within a Canadian military context. The purpose for the two current studies was to examine specific areas of child adjustment affected by military status, particularly deployment, and to explore potential pathways through which this impact occurs. Study 1 included an examination of the effect of military status on maternal depressive symptoms, parental stress, and marital satisfaction, as well as on the quality of the child's attachment to the parent at home. Further analyses were conducted to determine if maternal well-being mediated the effect of military status on attachment, and if there was a moderating role of social support on these associations. In Study 2, the unique role of military status in predicting reported behaviour problems over and above what was accounted for by child attachment and parental stress was explored. Findings from these studies revealed an association between deployment and higher levels of insecure attachment; and although deployment modestly predicted maternal depressive symptoms, there was no mediating effect found for maternal well-being. Furthermore, while insecure attachment and higher levels of parental stress were associated with elevated behaviour problems, deployment uniquely predicted conduct problems, internalizing problems, and total behaviour problems. Findings from the current studies add a valuable contribution to the limited available literature on how deployment affects young children in military families. Moreover these findings provide a basis in which to direct further research, and to also guide the development and implementation of interventions to support at-risk children in military families.

Divorce and family disruption are growing phenomena in the world and a reality in many children‟s lives. Almost half of all divorced families in South Africa have children under the age of 18 years. Divorce is a traumatic experience for children. Adolescent children in particular experience divorce as distressing. Adolescent children need to face numerous challenges while going through the transitional phase between childhood and adulthood. They are in the process of identity formation and rely on their parents‟ support and presence to develop a strong and positive identity. The Military is often described as a selfish entity, which demands members‟ undivided attention and loyalty. When Military families go through a process of divorce, they need to face the trauma of the divorce as well as the specific demands of the organisation. Adolescent children from divorcing families in a Military context experience specific needs, and their parents and the Military as organisation have a definite role to play in fulfilling these needs. This study focused on exploring the needs of adolescent children in divorced families in a South African Military context. A significant amount of research has been done on adolescent children in divorced families, but little is known about the needs of adolescent children in divorced families in a South African Military context. Hence, it is in this particular area that this study endeavours to make a contribution. The research was conducted in three Military bases in the Cape Town metropole area. Nine participants (five females and four males) consented to participate in the study. The size of the sample was not predetermined, but was based on data saturation. Participants were purposefully selected on the basis of the following: they are adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 years, they have parents whose divorce process has been finalised, and one or both of their parents are employed by the Military. Data was collected through conducting semi-structured one-on-one interviews with all participants. A semi-structured interview schedule assisted the researcher to facilitate the interviews for consistency. The researcher was able to validate data and elaborate on certain issues during interviews. Data was analysed through thematic analysis and different themes and sub-themes were defined. The researcher ensured the trustworthiness of the research process by following the guidelines as suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985). The study found that adolescent children in divorced families in a South African Military context have specific needs and that their focal need was for emotional support. They need their parents to communicate openly with them regarding the divorce process as well as the reasons for the divorce. Adolescents in Military divorced families long for a good relationship between them and their parents. They need to feel loved and want their parents physically and emotionally present in their lives. Participants need from the Military and schools to offer therapeutic support services as well as group sessions for adolescent children in Military divorced families. Although their basic psychological needs were met by the residing parent, they need to know that the newly formed single-parent family of which they now form part will be able to survive financially. Some researchers found that adolescent children from divorced families tended to reject faith. However, participants in this study indicated that they strongly needed support from their spiritual organisations and youth movements. In order to meet the needs of adolescent children in divorced families in the South African Military context, parents need to stay involved in their children‟s lives and communicate in an open and honest way with them. Military social workers, psychologists and chaplains need to ensure that therapeutic services are available to adolescent children of divorcing parents and that the adolescents attend these sessions. Work-related Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) could be put in place to ensure that all adolescent children from divorcing families attend therapeutic sessions. Group sessions should be available and accessible for adolescent children in divorcing Military families. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Divorce and family disruption are growing phenomena in the world and a reality in many children‟s lives. Almost half of all divorced families in South Africa have children under the age of 18 years. Divorce is a traumatic experience for children. Adolescent children in particular experience divorce as distressing. Adolescent children need to face numerous challenges while going through the transitional phase between childhood and adulthood. They are in the process of identity formation and rely on their parents‟ support and presence to develop a strong and positive identity. The Military is often described as a selfish entity, which demands members‟ undivided attention and loyalty. When Military families go through a process of divorce, they need to face the trauma of the divorce as well as the specific demands of the organisation. Adolescent children from divorcing families in a Military context experience specific needs, and their parents and the Military as organisation have a definite role to play in fulfilling these needs. This study focused on exploring the needs of adolescent children in divorced families in a South African Military context. A significant amount of research has been done on adolescent children in divorced families, but little is known about the needs of adolescent children in divorced families in a South African Military context. Hence, it is in this particular area that this study endeavours to make a contribution. The research was conducted in three Military bases in the Cape Town metropole area. Nine participants (five females and four males) consented to participate in the study. The size of the sample was not predetermined, but was based on data saturation. Participants were purposefully selected on the basis of the following: they are adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 years, they have parents whose divorce process has been finalised, and one or both of their parents are employed by the Military. Data was collected through conducting semi-structured one-on-one interviews with all participants. A semi-structured interview schedule assisted the researcher to facilitate the interviews for consistency. The researcher was able to validate data and elaborate on certain issues during interviews. Data was analysed through thematic analysis and different themes and sub-themes were defined. The researcher ensured the trustworthiness of the research process by following the guidelines as suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985). The study found that adolescent children in divorced families in a South African Military context have specific needs and that their focal need was for emotional support. They need their parents to communicate openly with them regarding the divorce process as well as the reasons for the divorce. Adolescents in Military divorced families long for a good relationship between them and their parents. They need to feel loved and want their parents physically and emotionally present in their lives. Participants need from the Military and schools to offer therapeutic support services as well as group sessions for adolescent children in Military divorced families. Although their basic psychological needs were met by the residing parent, they need to know that the newly formed single-parent family of which they now form part will be able to survive financially. Some researchers found that adolescent children from divorced families tended to reject faith. However, participants in this study indicated that they strongly needed support from their spiritual organisations and youth movements. In order to meet the needs of adolescent children in divorced families in the South African Military context, parents need to stay involved in their children‟s lives and communicate in an open and honest way with them. Military social workers, psychologists and chaplains need to ensure that therapeutic services are available to adolescent children of divorcing parents and that the adolescents attend these sessions. Work-related Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) could be put in place to ensure that all adolescent children from divorcing families attend therapeutic sessions. Group sessions should be available and accessible for adolescent children in divorcing Military families. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Scholars have characterized as “extreme” the intersection of work and family in military service (MacDermid Wadsworth & Southwell, 2011) and periods of deployment involve further stress for partners of military members (e.g. Not having enough personal time, having too many responsibilities at home, changing marital roles, and parenting hassles) that may make managing both work and family life more difficult (Chandra et al., 2011). Research with partners of deployed service members has focused primarily on mental health (Donoho et al., 2018; Mansfield et al., 2010) as well as parenting and household responsibilities (Chandra et al., 2011), but less is known about partners’ employment related outcomes. In the current study, both role strain and role enhancement processes were tested over time in a sample of employed partners of deployed Army National Guard Members (GMs) and a comparison group composed of partners of non-deploying GMs. In accordance with theories of work-family conflict (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985) and resource drain theory (Rothbard, 2001), a model utilizing two waves of data was tested; household challenges experienced by at-home partners were hypothesized to be related to more negative family-to-work spillover, and ultimately associated with less job engagement and more depressive symptoms. In addition theories of work-family facilitation (Grzywacz & Butler, 2005) and work-family enrichment (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006) were utilized to test whether family strengths (e.g. effective family functioning and military spouse role satisfaction) in the face of deployment were associated with positive FTW spillover, and ultimately with more job engagement and fewer depressive symptoms. Results revealed that household challenges were related to more negative family-to-work spillover, more depressive symptoms, and less job engagement. Effective family functioning was related to more positive FTW spillover, which was related to more job engagement. Results were consistent across the deploying and non-deploying group with the following exception: in the deploying group only, negative FTW spillover was associated with more depressive symptoms. The current study has implications for the field of work and family research, employers, and military family service providers. First, the current study provided evidence of cross-domain work-family conflict and work-family enrichment in a sample of partners of National Guard members. Second, the study highlighted numerous consequences for employees facing significant household challenges. The role of household challenges in employees’ lives may have implications for how employers should structure workplace culture and the employee supports they offer. Finally, only partners of deployed GMs experienced more depressive symptoms associated with negative FTW conflict. Military family service providers may use that information to better serve partners of deploying service members who are at risk of mental health concerns during deployment.

<p>Using self-reports from 83 military connected youths, the results of the present study challenge convention, suggesting first that the best fitting model for youth’s non-normative caregiving behaviors includes three distinct behavior types: Parentification, Adultification, Role Reversal. Second, that while non-normative caregiving behaviors may be associated with youths’ socio-emotional well-being, how these behaviors are associated may depend on both the behavior and the outcome. Lastly, that Unfairness significantly moderates the association between youth’s non-normative caregiving behavior types and socio-emotional wellbeing. Implications and directions for future research on youths’ non-normative caregiving experiences and types of non-normative caregiving behaviors are considered.</p>

Since the beginning of the Global War on Terror, almost three million children, spouses, and adult dependents have been directly affected by the deployment experiences of more than two million service members. This study examined the applicability of the Contextual Model of Family Stress (Boss, 2002) to a reintegrating military family sample (N = 228) by assessing the effects of external, military-related contextual factors (i.e., rank, component, combat exposure, length of time home post-deployment, and cumulative length of deployments) and internal contextual factors of boundary ambiguity and family and deployment-related ambivalence on family functioning. Quantitative data were taken from a national survey of service members from multiple branches of the United States military. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that, as a whole, the addition of the military-related contextual factors, boundary ambiguity, and the ambivalence variables made a significant contribution to the prediction of family functioning, controlling for all previously entered variables. Service members from lower ranks and those who had been home for longer periods of time reported poorer family functioning. Higher degrees of boundary ambiguity and family ambivalence were also associated with poorer family functioning. The results from this study extend existing theoretical applications of the Contextual Model (Boss, 2002) to military families through the incorporation of boundary ambiguity and ambivalence. Findings will also inform interventions aimed at promoting family resilience in the military population during the post-deployment period. / Ph. D.

The advances in communication technology over the past 20 years have significant implications for the delivery of psycho-educational therapeutic services to populations that have been historically underserved due to remote locations lacking trained providers. One such population is military families, who also suffer from a negative stigma of asking for outside help or education for personal growth. This population also faces increasing mental health needs due to military deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). These operations have increased the number of returning service members who have been physically and mentally injured. The effect that these injuries have on the military family and children can be severe and damaging not only to the family unit but also to the morale of the military itself. Providing mental health services and psycho-educational counseling that meet the needs of the family as well as finding therapeutic approaches that are empirically sound has proven difficult. Recent success with the use of Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) with families in the civilian population holds promise in reducing emotional and behavioral disturbances in children as well as increasing the overall functioning of the individuals within the family. Providing services virtually through teleconferencing programs addresses many common barriers to treatment of military families. This study has examined the experience of military families during and after deployment, their perception of counseling and educational services as well as their recommendations for the use of technology. Numerous recommendations for future educational and counseling services via technology were found when the interventions were supported by and aligned with military culture and values.

This dissertation investigates the various levels at which the multi-scaled dynamics of war take shape in the everyday, embodied lives of the people whose job it is to produce it—soldiers and their families and communities at and around Ft. Hood, in central Texas. As the largest military installation in the world and the single biggest point of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan for all U.S. forces, Ft. Hood and its surround may represent the greatest single concentration of Americans directly involved in the production of global military force outside of Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. The repercussions of war and routinized war-making extend throughout the lives of the people who inhabit, serve and surround the base. The length, scale and distinct character of the Iraq War have exposed these soldiers and their family members to new and chronic hardships and forms of vulnerability, including the stresses of longer and more frequent tours, unprecedented rates of posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, overburdened institutional supports, and an abundance of extreme characterizations of soldiers in American public culture. These vulnerabilities are bodily and affective, intersubjective and shared, and bases for scrutiny and recognition. I base my analysis on the difficult and distinctive role that the soldier occupies as at once the agent, instrument and object of state violence. The soldier’s life is simultaneously shaped by discipline, empowered by the right to kill, and allowed to be exposed to harm and death. I use soldiers’ “exceptional” status as a starting point for understanding the dense sets of material, institutional, discursive, and social relations in which they are embedded. The dissertation chapters are organized around broad themes that emerged from my informants’ words, actions and experiences and that capture the impacts of war across diverse arenas of everyday life. I treat each theme as a field within which to explore not merely the effects of war, but its lived affects—-the “feelings” of war that are the variously sensory, psychic and emotional imprints of the everyday, organized production of military violence. / text