Parenting Stress, Family Resilience, and Emotional Support Among US Military Families

Military families experience lifestyle and circumstance-specific stressors that may impact their parental stress, family resilience, and emotional support for parenthood. These outcomes may influence parenting behaviors and mental health that have further implications on child development and growth. Research is needed to examine these outcomes among military families in the United States on a national scale due to the importance of potential intergenerational implications.

This cross-sectional study used data from the 2021-2022 National Survey of Children's Health to investigate the relationship between caregiver military status and outcomes of parental stress, family resilience, and emotional support for parenthood (n = 99,869). Bivariate analyses through chi-square tests were calculated to determine differences between outcomes from military caregivers and civilian caregivers with select covariates. Multivariable regression analyses were calculated to further explore the relationship between caregiver military status and emotional support for parenthood.

The prevalence of emotional support with parenthood was higher among military caregivers compared to civilian caregivers (82.8% vs. 75.0%, p < 0.0001); however, this difference was not statistically significant in adjusted analyses. No statistically significant differences were found between military families and civilian families in parenting stress and family resilience.

This study extended previous research that have focused on state or station specific outcomes in military families by examining these outcomes on a national scale. This study has important implications towards expanding research and interventions that reduce parenting stress and improve family resilience and emotional support for parenthood to ensure continued positive outcomes.