Resilience among Military Youth

Abstract

Much research on children in military families has taken a deficit approach—that is, it has portrayed these children as a population susceptible to psychological damage from the hardships of military life, such as frequent moves and separation from their parents during deployment. But M. Ann Easterbrooks, Kenneth Ginsburg, and Richard M. Lerner observe that most military children turn out just fine. They argue that, to better serve military children, we must understand the sources of strength that help them cope with adversity and thrive. In other words, we must understand their resilience. The authors stress that resilience is not a personal trait but a product of the relationships between children and the people and resources around them. In this sense, military life, along with its hardships, offers many sources for resilience—for example, a strong sense of belonging to a supportive community with a shared mission and values. Similarly, children whose parents are deployed may build their self-confidence by taking on new responsibilities in the family, and moving offers opportunities for adventure and personal growth. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drew more and more service members into combat, the military and civilian groups alike rolled out dozens of programs aimed at boosting military children’s resilience. Although the authors applaud this effort, they also note that few of these programs have been based on scientific evidence of what works, and few have been rigorously evaluated for their effectiveness. They call for a program of sustained research to boost our understanding of military children’s resilience.

Communication, Coping, and Connections: Campers’ and Parents’ Perspectives of Self-Efficacy and Benefits of Participation in Deployment Support Camps

“…Maternal support has been shown to be a protective factor for adjustment for youth in military families (Morris & Age, 2009), and it is reasonable to assume that peers may also be a resource for support. Our results align with others who have noted the positive impact of the social connectedness youth feel with other military youth (Chandra et al, 2011;Easterbrooks et al, 2013;Ferrari & Leonard, 2007;Huebner & Mancini, 2005;Mmari, Bradshaw, Sudhinaraset, & Blum, 2010). This sense of belonging also occurs in other camps with condition-specific audiences (Roberson, 2010).…”

“…Likewise, they thought that the overwhelming benefit of attending camp was the connections they built with others who understood them, a phenomenon referred to as "linked lives" (Easterbrooks et al, 2013). The majority of the camp participants were from National Guard or Reserve families, who have limited opportunities to interact with other military youth, and attending camp provided a means to meet others who share their military family experience.…”

“…This sense of belonging also occurs in other camps with condition-specific audiences (Roberson, 2010). Connections are an important part of building resilience (Easterbrooks et al, 2013;Ginsburg & Jablow, 2011), which is a goal when working with military youth.…”

“…Effectively dealing with challenging circumstances may be a catalyst for growth (Easterbrooks et al, 2013). Both youth and adults have reported strengthened relationships and family cohesion (Knobloch et al, 2015;Knobloch & Theiss, 2012) and increased independence and autonomy (Castenada et al, 2008;Knobloch et al, 2015;Knobloch & Theiss, 2012;Mmari et al, 2009) as a result of deployment.…”

“…OMK was designed especially for those who had a family member in the National Guard or Reserves and were geographically dispersed throughout their respective states, as they are often lacking in support resources. Programs such as OMK are recognized for providing support for children of military personnel (Easterbrooks, Ginsburg, & Lerner, 2013;Huebner, Mancini, Bowen, & Orthner, 2009;Lara-Cinisomo, Chandra, Burns, & Lau, 2013), but there is a lack of published research describing their effects.…”