In these times of war, many of us know someone who has been deployed. We worry about their safety and think about when they will return. But what happens to those who are left behind? Spouses, children, other family members, and friends, go through their own share of problems when someone they know is deployed. However, studies have shown that military children suffer the greatest.
The Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics published a new study that was conducted by military doctors and researchers. They studied military spouses of deployed Army Soldiers with children, ages 5-12. The survey appraised the level of strain that the deployment has taken on the family. It found that a third of military children that have a parent who has been deployed are at a higher risk for psychological problems, than those who are not.
The study discovered different factors that contributed if someone would be at a higher risk for stress. Those that were feeling a heavy amount of stress were young families. Young families are what primarily make up the amount of enlisted soldiers. It’s very difficult to be married to begin with, but when you’re a young spouse with a child, it only adds to the pressure. When you’re young, there is often a small amount support networks.
Children are less likely to have high levels of stress if their parents had college educations. They would also have less stress if they were working outside of the home. It is suggested that stress levels could be lower because they had access to additional support, resources, daily adult interaction, and income.
Many spouses find the return home more stressful than the deployment itself. It’s often difficult to integrate their returning spouse into their routine at home and have them share some of the everyday “normal” responsibilities. Children may see their parents fight, which is something they’re not used to and parents have to find a way to explain to the child what is going on. Not only is their return difficult, but many families are well aware that they may also be deployed again in the near future. With this knowledge, families may not actually settle down into family life.
Since many spouses have high stress levels, this has a dramatic effect on their children’s ability to cope with the deployment. Parents often find that their children have difficulty coping because they tend to internalize their symptoms. Their children have high levels of anxiety, they cry a lot, and worry.
The key to dealing with the stress is to surround yourself and your children with a strong support system. Many families live on military bases so they have the support of other wives and military staff. The staff is trained to understand that not every spouse and child have the same needs and cope with the deployment the same.
It’s difficult for a child to grow up and it’s especially difficult if you only have one parental figure around. War only adds to the stress. Families and friends should pay particular attention to those children who are dealing with the difficulty of deployment. It’s important to provide assistance to support to them whether they’re open to it or not.
SOURCE: CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/02/military.kids.stress/index.