The Loss of a Parent to Suicide in Military Families

In this paper the authors explore the impact of loss of a parent to suicide on adolescents in military families using Marcia's identity status theory and the Roy adaptation model (RAM). After describing a brief case study of a 13-year-old boy in a military family who lost his father in this manner, these two theories are applied to better understand his struggle to develop and maintain a healthy identity and adapt to numerous relocations, deployments, and then loss. The military family stressors are seen as weakening the resilience of children in such families, making them more vulnerable to the impact of parent loss. Implications for nurses and other healthcare professionals are discussed.