Mental Health of Canadian Children Growing Up in Military Families: The Child Perspective

Abstract

A recent scoping review indicated military-connected children face stressors that may increase mental health issues. However, the majority of the included literature was American. To examine the experiences of Canadian military-connected children, we conducted in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of Canadian military-connected youth using a qualitative description approach. We conducted a content analysis on interview data, supported by qualitative data analysis software (MAXQDA), with coding done by two researchers who met regularly to discuss coding agreement. Thirteen children in military families participated and described the mental health impact of frequent mobility, parental absence, and risk of parental injury. The experiences of our participants were consistent with the results of an earlier scoping review on this topic. Our results suggest improving military cultural competence among health care providers and enhancing parental support may positively impact child well-being. More research is needed to understand resilience and vulnerability among Canadian military-connected children.