Military Families' Stressful Reintegration, Family Climate, and Their Adolescents' Psychosocial Health

Abstract

Objective Grounded in the Contextual Model of Family Stress, this study sought to identify (a) how military families' postdeployment reintegration experiences relate to the psychosocial health of adolescents and (b) indicators of family climate as a linking mechanism. Background Reintegration requires individuals, families, and systems to readjust after a period of family disruption. Assessing reintegration is pivotal for understanding how military families are faring and what leverage points exist for enhancing their well‐being. Method The sample included 238 Active Duty (AD) military families with one service member and one civilian parent. Most parents were married and between the ages of 31–40 years. Adolescents (51.3% boys) ranged from 11 to 18 years (M = 14.13). A path analysis model with data from multiple family members examined the associations between (a) AD and civilian parents' perceptions of their family reintegration and military context, (b) their adolescents' perceptions of family climate, and (3) adolescents' psychosocial health (i.e., anxiety, depression, self‐efficacy, and personal well‐being). Results Both parents' experiences with family reintegration were indirectly related to adolescents' psychosocial health through indicators of family climate, particularly interparental conflict. The magnitude of significant effects ranged from small to medium, and time since deployment and gender were found to modify select findings. Conclusion These findings suggest clear leverage points for interventions with military families as they adjust to deployment reintegration, including a focus on parenting, parents' interactions with one another as a family reorients after deployment, and how adolescents perceive their own adjustment and that of their parents.

Identifying Mental Health Profiles Among Adolescents Who Experienced a Recent Parental Deployment or Military-Related Family Separation

“…Family cohesion and support in military families tend to be characterized as protective factors for the family system and individual well-being and emotional stability (Russo & Fallon, 2015). Family support and family cohesion have been identified as correlates of depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, general well-being, and academic performance among samples of adolescents in U.S. Army families, such that adolescents who felt cared about and understood within their families tended to report better psychosocial outcomes (Arnold et al, 2017; O’Neal & Mancini, 2021).…”

Long-term consequences of mothers’ and fathers’ wartime deployments: Protocol for a two-wave panel study

“…Research in the general population indicates that interparental conflict can disrupt children’s long-term outcomes, resulting in elevated emotional insecurity and internalizing and externalizing problems [ 29 ]. Although research with military families on this topic is rare, one recent study found that, during reintegration, interparental conflict was negatively related to youth’s self-efficacy and well-being and positively associated with their anxiety and depressive symptoms [ 30 ]. More positive youth outcomes are thus expected when there is less conflict, more constructive communication, and better cooperation between parents.…”