Developmental Issues Impacting Military Families 1

Developmental Issues Impacting Military Families With Young Children During Single and Multiple Deployments

Danielle Kolb

Interacting With Children Doctor Tankersley

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Developmental Issues Impacting Military Families With Young Children During Single and Multiple Deployments Introduction There have been numerous reports explaining and investigating the impacts of multiple deployments on soldiers. Never have I seen a report that addresses what happens to children when and during a parents deployment. This article by Barker and Berry published in 2009 examines attachment problems on children by surveying parents during and after deployment. Summary Barker and Berry developed 4 hypotheses to test. The first and second hypothesis are, Child behavior problems would increase with the number of deployments the family experienced and Intense child attachment behavior would increase with the number of deployments the family experienced. The third and 4 th hypothesis were, [the] individual child factors (child age, temperament) and family factors (geographic relocation history, parent stress/emotional problems, number and duration of deployments) are related to child behavior and attachment and Child and family reactions during deployment and reunion impact soldiers re-enlistment decision making, (p.1034). The subsequent research supports all 4 hypotheses because child behavior problems did increase for the families who had endured multiple deployments. The attachment problems once home were significant and children, especially younger ones, were less willing to engage with the deployed parent once she/he was home. Whether or not a child recognized his/her parent during their reunion was also an issue

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and another large majority of children were unable to recognize their parent. The age of the children and even the sex of the child played a role in the attachment and behavior problems. Older children and especially boys were more likely to experience problems. The stability of the family was also an issue. If a family had been relocated multiple times, had multiple or lengthy deployments or was under excessive amounts of stress the attachment and behavior problems were even more likely to occur in children. The last hypothesis addresses the issue of re-enlistment. According to Table VII, Parent and Child Comments, not all of the families factored in the reactions of their families while they were deployed into their re-enlistment decision. One husband who had been on multiple deployments described the decision making process like this, We only decided to stay in if we could get away from the deployment cycleI dont want (wife) to have to raise children on her own (p. 1038). Reflection The behaviors and attachment issues these children are facing is directly related to their parents deployment. My nephew endured very similar problems when my brother was in Iraq for a year. There are emotions that young children do not know how to express or cannot understand and this can lead to stress even in the youngest of children. If a parent is stressed children pick up on that and that can lead to stress in children as well. Children learn about the world from the environment around them and if that environment is constantly changing and the people they have come to depend on are not there that can cause major stress. When children are under so much stress and enduring so many changes behavior problems and trust issues will occur because for most children that is a way of expressing stress.

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Future Impact This article has made me think situations that are similar to deployment but have the same affect on children. If a child has a parent who is incarcerated the reactions would be very similar. If a child has been abandoned by one parent and lives with the other the behavior and attachment problems would initially be nearly identical. Foster care is another situation where these kinds of behaviors would be found. A child is removed from the parent(s) and sent to live with another family. After some time, just like a deployment, the child could be reunited with his parent(s). These are all situations that could affect the children I am responsible for. I am able to understand more clearly that it is very common for these situations to arise and deployment isnt the only time when an absent parent can cause major issues for a child.

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References Barker, L. (2009). Developmental Issues Impacting Military Families With Young Children During Single and Multiple Deployments. Military Medicine, (174, 10), 1033-1040.