Objective-This article reports findings from a one-year longitudinal study examining the impact of change in PTSD symptoms following combat deployment on National Guard soldiers' perceived parenting, and couple adjustment one year following return from Iraq.

No abstract

No abstract

Trauma research has identified a link between parental adjustment and children's functioning and the sometimes ensuing intergenerational impact of traumatic events. The effects of traumatic events on children have been demonstrated to be mediated through their impact on children's parents. However, until now, little consideration has been given to the separate and more proximal mechanism of parenting practices as potential mediators between children's adjustment and traumatic events. To shed some light in this arena, we review literature on trauma, adversity, and resilience, and discuss how parenting practices may mediate trauma and adverse environmental contexts. Using a social interaction learning perspective (Forgatch & Knutson, 2002; Patterson, 2005), we propose a prevention research framework to examine the role that parenting practices may play in influencing children's adjustment in the wake of trauma exposure. The article concludes by providing a specific model and role for evidence-based parenting interventions for children exposed to mass trauma.

We used an anonymous self-reported questionnaire to assess posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, relationship concerns, and treatment preferences including interest in family-focused interventions among 100 National Guard Soldiers who were recently redeployed from Iraq or Afghanistan. We found that the majority of married or partnered soldiers were concerned about getting along with their partners, while the majority of parents were concerned about their child-rearing practices. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were significantly associated with the degree of relationship concerns. Soldiers showed a striking preference for family-based interventions over individual treatment, highlighting the importance of developing family-based interventions tailored to address post-deployment mental health and co-occurring family problems.

Long-term homelessness is associated with other psychosocial risk factors (e.g., adult mental illness, substance abuse, and exposure to violence). All of these factors are associated with impairments in parenting effectiveness and child adjustment, but there are very limited data investigating parenting among families who are homeless and highly mobile. In particular, there is no literature examining the relationships among observed parenting, parental mental health, and child adjustment in a supportive housing sample. Data are reported from a multimethod study of 200 children in 127 families residing in supportive housing agencies in a large metro area. Observed parenting and parents' mental health symptoms directly affected children's adjustment. The influence of parenting self-efficacy on children's adjustment was mediated through its impact on observed parenting. However, observed parenting did not mediate the relationship between parental mental health and child adjustment. Implications for research and practice with homeless populations are offered.

Recent national reports suggest that nearly 1,000,000 families with children experience homelessness and that this number is rising (National Center on Family Homelessness, 2009; U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2010; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2011). Families experiencing homelessness are disproportionately more likely to have experienced economic, health, and social risk factors. These experiences can adversely influence the parent–child relationship. The purpose of this article is to (a) review the literature on the determinants and contextual issues of parenting in shelters; (b) describe specific programs that are focused on positive parenting in the context of homelessness; and (c) provide practice, research, and policy recommendations for supporting positive parenting among families living without homes.

Recent studies have highlighted the impact of deployment on military families and children and the corresponding need for interventions to support them. Historically, however, little emphasis has been placed on family-based interventions in general, and parenting interventions in particular, with returning service members. This paper provides an overview of research on the associations between combat deployment, parental adjustment of service members and spouses, parenting impairments, and children’s adjustment problems, and provides a social interaction learning framework for research and practice to support parenting among military families affected by a parent’s deployment. We then describe the Parent Management Training-Oregon model (PMTO™), a family of interventions that improves parenting practices and child adjustment in highly stressed families, and briefly present work on an adaptation of PMTO for use in military families (After Deployment: Adaptive Parenting Tools, or ADAPT). The article concludes with PMTO-based recommendations for clinicians providing parenting support to military families.