Since late 2001, the United States has deployed approximately 2 million service members to support these operations.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan represent the largest stress on the all-volunteer force since its inception in the early 1970s. Four factors in particular-(1) caregiver emotional well-being, (2) more cumulative months of deployment, (3) National Guard or Reserve status, and (4) quality of caregiver-youth communication-were strongly associated with greater youth or caregiver difficulties. The researchers found that children and caregivers who had applied to attend the camp confronted significant challenges to their emotional well-being and functioning. The study included quantitative and qualitative components: three waves of phone surveys with youth and nondeployed caregivers, and in-depth interviews with a subsample of caregivers. It also examines the challenges that their nondeployed caregivers face. It addresses the general well-being of military youth during and after parental deployment, with attention to their emotional, social, and academic functioning.
This article shares highlights from a study that examined the functioning of a sample of youth in military families who applied to a free camp for children of military personnel and to specifically assess how these youth are coping with parental deployment. As the United States continues deployments of service members to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is increasingly important to understand the effects of this military involvement, not only on service members but also on the health and well-being of their spouses and youth.
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