The impact of military deployment on children: Placing developmental risk in context

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Military Psychology
• Family Studies

Background:

• U.S. military families face significant stressors from parental deployment, including separations and routine changes.
• Recent conflicts have heightened these challenges over the past 14 years, impacting children's well-being.
• Understanding the effects of deployment on children's mental health is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing research on children's mental health and functioning related to parental military deployment.
• To analyze findings across different developmental stages: toddlers/preschoolers, school-age children, and adolescents.
• To identify gaps in knowledge and propose future research directions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of studies published over the last 14 years.
• Categorization of findings by child age group to highlight developmental differences.
• Analysis of reported mental health service utilization and child maltreatment rates.

Main Results:

• Increased utilization of mental health services by military-connected children during parental deployment across all age groups.
• Emerging evidence suggests a rise in child maltreatment linked to deployment, though perpetrators are often unclear.
• Specific mental health problems and long-term outcomes remain poorly understood.

Conclusions:

• Further research with methodological rigor is needed to understand deployment's impact on child mental health.
• Longitudinal studies are essential to track emotional and behavioral problems and resilience.
• Intervention programs should consider broader parental and contextual factors and focus on adaptive outcomes.