The contributions of child–mother attachment, maternal parenting stress, and military status to the prediction of child behavior problems

Abstract

Studies show that children with a military parent are at heightened risk of the development of behavior problems. However, there is limited work examining how other factors experienced by military families may also influence behavior problems. In the current study, we recruited three types of Canadian families with a preschooler: families with a deployed military member, families with a nondeployed military member, and nonmilitary families. We examined whether the nonmilitary parent's (in all cases the mother) parenting stress and attachment relationship with the child are associated with behavior problems, and whether deployment status further contributes to the prediction. Child-mother dyads participated in an observed attachment assessment, and mothers reported on their stress levels and their child's behavior. Results showed that both child attachment insecurity and parenting stress were associated with elevated levels of internalizing problems; however, only parenting stress was associated with conduct problems. Military deployment predicted higher levels of internalizing and conduct problems beyond the contributions of attachment and stress. Furthermore, having a father in the military (whether deployed or not) also contributed to internalizing problems. These findings shed light on how the military lifestyle impacts early childhood mental health through the complex interplay between various parts of their environment. K E Y W O R D S attachment, behavior problems, deployment, military, parenting stress 1 PREDICTION OF CHILD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS Global conflicts such as the recent one in Afghanistan have contributed to an increase in the military deployment of Canadian Armed Forces personnel during the past few decades. Given the challenges that a long-term separation from a parent brings forward, scholars have been preoccupied with the potential detrimental effects of military deployment on children. Notably, they found that parental deployment may be a threat to early childhood mental health, notably by increasing the prevalence of internalizing and externalizing problems (Moeller, Culler, Hamilton, Aronson, & Perkins, 2015). However, past research neglected to consider whether deployment in itself predicts behavioral problems, or if other changes related to deployment (e.g., changes experienced by the at-home parent; Flittner O'Grady, Whiteman, Cardin, & MacDermid Wadsworth, 2018) may explain the higher prevalence of behavioral problems among children with a deployed parent. In the current study, we sought to address

Family Cohesion and Relationship Quality in Defence Force Families: Rapid Review

“…Results showed a significant direct effect of deployment status on attachment that was not mediated through other factors such as maternal depression, nor moderated by factors such as social support. A subsequent study (Tupper et al, 2020) examined further pathways of impact on these early attachment relationships, with a focus on maternal parenting stress. Child-mother dyads from military families (n = 51 armed forces) participated in an observed attachment assessment with the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP; Ainsworth, 2014), and mothers reported on their stress levels.…”

The relationship of maternal and child methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor NR3C1 during early childhood and subsequent child psychopathology at school-age in the context of maternal interpersonal violence-related post-traumatic stress disorder

“…Van Aswegen et al also pointed to the importance of considering this maternal-child relationship in the context of problematic mother-child relationships (16). Indeed, in our previous study, we showed maternal methylation of the NR3C1 promoter region as negatively and significantly associated with parenting stress, which is a known marker of parentchild relationship disturbance and is predictive of both child internalizing (i.e., anxiety and depression) and externalizing problems (i.e., disruptive behavior disorder symptoms such as those of attention deficit hyperactivity, oppositional defiant and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder) (10,18). Parenting stress is known to be increased both in the context of maternal history of maltreatment and other interpersonal violence exposure as well as in the context of psychopathology such as PTSD and depression (19-22).…”

Children’s Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes in Military Families: A Rapid Review

“…Age and gender Only one study (Crockett et al, 2020) reported on the serving military parent's mean age (33.3 years), while two studies (Crockett et al, 2020;Lester et al, 2012) reported on the non-serving military parent's mean age (35.66 years). The few studies which reported on parent gender indicated that serving military personnel were mostly males (mean: 94%; n = 2; Tupper et al, 2020;Wilson et al, 2014), and the non-serving parents were mostly females (mean: 98%; n = 4; Lester et al, 2012;Tupper et al, 2018;Tupper et al, 2020;Wilson et al 2014).…”