Length of parental military deployment associated with children's mental health diagnoses, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 4, 2011) — Children with a parent who was deployed in the U.S. military efforts Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) for longer periods were more likely than children whose parents did not deploy to receive a diagnosis of a mental health problem, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

According to background information in the article, previous research has attributed children's depression and negative affect to parental military deployments. However, there has not been much research into this topic with regards to the United States' present conflicts, OIF and OEF. "As troops face dynamic and evolving threats (e.g., an increasingly sophisticated array of roadside explosive devices)," write the authors, "the need to anticipate the psychological consequences for their children and to offer timely intervention becomes increasingly important."

Alyssa J. Mansfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., then of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, now of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Honolulu, and colleagues examined electronic medical record data for outpatient care received at military facilities or through military health insurance between 2003 and 2006. The study included children ages 5 years through 17 years who had at least one parent serving on active duty in the U.S. Army. (Children of Reserve and National Guard personnel were excluded.) Researchers used the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, to identify mental health diagnoses.

The study included 307,520 children, of whom 16.7 percent had a mental health diagnosis (most often for stress disorders, depression, behavioral problems, anxiety, and sleep disorders) during the study. More than 62 percent of parents were deployed at least once during the period, for an average of 11 months. The researchers found that mental health diagnoses were more common among children who had a parent who was deployed at least once for military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan. After adjusting the data for age, sex and mental health history, they showed that the likelihood of a mental health diagnosis increased with increases in parental deployment length; other factors included older age groups and male sex. The strongest associations were for acute stress reaction and adjustment disorders, depressive disorders, and behavioral disorders, among the total of 6,579 mental health diagnoses observed in children of deployed parents.

"We observed a clear dose-response pattern such that children of parents who spent more time deployed between 2003 and 2006 fared worse than children whose parents were deployed for a shorter duration," write the authors. "Similar to findings among military spouses, prolonged deployment appears to be taking a mental health toll on children." They urge further research of this issue among other branches of the military as well as the National Guard and Reserves.

Commentary: A Closer Look at the Effect Military Deployment Has on Children

In a commentary, Stephen J. Cozza, M.D., from the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine in Bethesda, Md., provides perspective on the scope of U.S. military deployment and the population it touches. As of 2009, he notes, 44 percent of active duty military members have children (for a total of 1.2 million children), as well as 43 percent of Reserve and National Guard members. Furthermore, since combat operations began in 2001, roughly 2 million U.S. military personnel have deployed at least once.

The article by Mansfield and colleagues, writes Cozza, provides "an important contribution to our understanding of a child's health and its relationship to parental combat deployment." The study, he adds, appears to confirm earlier research into this topic. But it also raises questions, such as what long-term consequences, if any, deployments have on children's health and development.

Cozza recommends that these findings be used to raise national awareness of the problem, both within the military community and without. Since affected children are likely to at some point receive care outside the military health system, he urges civilian clinicians to pay special attention to these patients. "Brief screening for anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, academic difficulties, peer relational problems, or high-risk behaviors (such as substance misuse or unsafe sexual practices) is warranted and will help identify treatment needs," Cozza concludes.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.

Journal References:

Alyssa J. Mansfield; Jay S. Kaufman; Charles C. Engel; Bradley N. Gaynes. Deployment and Mental Health Diagnoses Among Children of US Army Personnel. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.123Stephen J. Cozza. Children of Military Service Members: Raising National Awareness of the Family Health Consequences of Combat Deployment. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.117

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here sciencedaily.com

Length of parental military deployment associated with children's mental health diagnoses, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 4, 2011) — Children with a parent who was deployed in the U.S. military efforts Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) for longer periods were more likely than children whose parents did not deploy to receive a diagnosis of a mental health problem, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

According to background information in the article, previous research has attributed children's depression and negative affect to parental military deployments. However, there has not been much research into this topic with regards to the United States' present conflicts, OIF and OEF. "As troops face dynamic and evolving threats (e.g., an increasingly sophisticated array of roadside explosive devices)," write the authors, "the need to anticipate the psychological consequences for their children and to offer timely intervention becomes increasingly important."

Alyssa J. Mansfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., then of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, now of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Honolulu, and colleagues examined electronic medical record data for outpatient care received at military facilities or through military health insurance between 2003 and 2006. The study included children ages 5 years through 17 years who had at least one parent serving on active duty in the U.S. Army. (Children of Reserve and National Guard personnel were excluded.) Researchers used the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, to identify mental health diagnoses.

The study included 307,520 children, of whom 16.7 percent had a mental health diagnosis (most often for stress disorders, depression, behavioral problems, anxiety, and sleep disorders) during the study. More than 62 percent of parents were deployed at least once during the period, for an average of 11 months. The researchers found that mental health diagnoses were more common among children who had a parent who was deployed at least once for military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan. After adjusting the data for age, sex and mental health history, they showed that the likelihood of a mental health diagnosis increased with increases in parental deployment length; other factors included older age groups and male sex. The strongest associations were for acute stress reaction and adjustment disorders, depressive disorders, and behavioral disorders, among the total of 6,579 mental health diagnoses observed in children of deployed parents.

"We observed a clear dose-response pattern such that children of parents who spent more time deployed between 2003 and 2006 fared worse than children whose parents were deployed for a shorter duration," write the authors. "Similar to findings among military spouses, prolonged deployment appears to be taking a mental health toll on children." They urge further research of this issue among other branches of the military as well as the National Guard and Reserves.

Commentary: A Closer Look at the Effect Military Deployment Has on Children

In a commentary, Stephen J. Cozza, M.D., from the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine in Bethesda, Md., provides perspective on the scope of U.S. military deployment and the population it touches. As of 2009, he notes, 44 percent of active duty military members have children (for a total of 1.2 million children), as well as 43 percent of Reserve and National Guard members. Furthermore, since combat operations began in 2001, roughly 2 million U.S. military personnel have deployed at least once.

The article by Mansfield and colleagues, writes Cozza, provides "an important contribution to our understanding of a child's health and its relationship to parental combat deployment." The study, he adds, appears to confirm earlier research into this topic. But it also raises questions, such as what long-term consequences, if any, deployments have on children's health and development.

Cozza recommends that these findings be used to raise national awareness of the problem, both within the military community and without. Since affected children are likely to at some point receive care outside the military health system, he urges civilian clinicians to pay special attention to these patients. "Brief screening for anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, academic difficulties, peer relational problems, or high-risk behaviors (such as substance misuse or unsafe sexual practices) is warranted and will help identify treatment needs," Cozza concludes.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.

Journal References:

Alyssa J. Mansfield; Jay S. Kaufman; Charles C. Engel; Bradley N. Gaynes. Deployment and Mental Health Diagnoses Among Children of US Army Personnel. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.123Stephen J. Cozza. Children of Military Service Members: Raising National Awareness of the Family Health Consequences of Combat Deployment. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.117

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Adolescent boys among those most affected by Washington state parental military deployment, study suggests

ScienceDaily (July 21, 2011) — In 2007, nearly two million children in the United States had at least one parent serving in the military. Military families and children, in particular, suffer from mental health problems related to long deployments.

A new study from researchers at the University of Washington (UW) concludes that parental military deployment is associated with impaired well-being among adolescents, especially adolescent boys. The study, "Adolescent well-being in Washington state military families," was published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Lead author Sarah C. Reed, who has a master's degree from the UW School of Public Health, said the findings show that it is time to focus more on the children that are left behind in times of war. "There is a lot of research about veterans and active-duty soldiers, and how they cope or struggle when they return from a deployment," said Reed. "Those studies hit the tip of the iceberg of how families are coping and how their children are doing."

Adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to adverse health effects from parental military deployment. Healthy development, including identifying a sense of self and separation from family, can be interrupted during parents' active military service.

Media exposure and the developmental ability to understand the consequences of war may further disrupt adolescents' adjustment and coping. Teens may also have additional responsibilities at home after a parent's deployment, researchers said.

UW researchers used data from the Washington state 2008 Healthy Youth Survey, administered to more than 10,000 adolescents in 8th, 10th- and 12th grade classrooms. Female 8th graders with parents deployed to combat appear to be at risk of depression and thoughts of suicide, while male counterparts in all grades are at increased risk of impaired well-being in all of the areas examined (low quality of life, binge drinking, drug use and low academic achievement).

National research organizations, including RAND Health and the RAND National Security Research Division, have studied what's known as the "invisible wounds" of war. But Reed and her team said existing research is not enough. "We have to figure out more of what's going on within families and with children, and what's going to be helpful to mitigate the difficult things -- including risky behaviors by adolescents -- that are happening in families," she said.

Reed said that implementing or strengthening school-based programs that target affected adolescents would be a good starting point. Research and support programs also need to be beefed up, based on the research team's analysis. "There seem to be a lot of programs available but they are scattered and hard to navigate," said Reed. "In Washington state, schools have support programs, but they appear to be disconnected. There's a lot of energy in terms of people who would like to help, but a more cohesive effort in reaching out to adolescents and providing services is important."

Reed and her team are working on a follow-up study, analyzing parental military service and adolescent behaviors of school-based physical fighting, weapon carrying and gang membership.

Funding for the study was supported by a grant from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Co-authors on the study include Janice Bell, UW assistant professor of health services, and Todd Edwards, UW research assistant professor of health services, both in the UW School of Public Health.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Washington, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Sarah C. Reed, Janice F. Bell, Todd C Edwards. Adolescent Well-Being in Washington State Military Families. American Journal of Public Health, 2011; DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300165

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Parental Military Deployment Has Detrimental Affect On Adolescent Boys

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Men's health
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In 2007, nearly two million children in the United States had at least one parent serving in the military. Military families and children, in particular, suffer from mental health problems related to long deployments.

A new study from researchers at the University of Washington (UW) concludes that parental military deployment is associated with impaired well-being among adolescents, especially adolescent boys. The study, "Adolescent well-being in Washington state military families," was published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Lead author Sarah C. Reed, who has a master's degree from the UW School of Public Health, said the findings show that it is time to focus more on the children that are left behind in times of war. "There is a lot of research about veterans and active-duty soldiers, and how they cope or struggle when they return from a deployment," said Reed. "Those studies hit the tip of the iceberg of how families are coping and how their children are doing."

Adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to adverse health effects from parental military deployment. Healthy development, including identifying a sense of self and separation from family, can be interrupted during parents' active military service.

Media exposure and the developmental ability to understand the consequences of war may further disrupt adolescents' adjustment and coping. Teens may also have additional responsibilities at home after a parent's deployment, researchers said.

UW researchers used data from the Washington state 2008 Healthy Youth Survey, administered to more than 10,000 adolescents in 8th, 10th- and 12th grade classrooms. Female 8th graders with parents deployed to combat appear to be at risk of depression and thoughts of suicide, while male counterparts in all grades are at increased risk of impaired well-being in all of the areas examined (low quality of life, binge drinking, drug use and low academic achievement).

National research organizations, including RAND Health and the RAND National Security Research Division, have studied what's known as the "invisible wounds" of war. But Reed and her team said existing research is not enough. "We have to figure out more of what's going on within families and with children, and what's going to be helpful to mitigate the difficult things - including risky behaviors by adolescents - that are happening in families," she said.

Reed said that implementing or strengthening school-based programs that target affected adolescents would be a good starting point. Research and support programs also need to be beefed up, based on the research team's analysis. "There seem to be a lot of programs available but they are scattered and hard to navigate," said Reed. "In Washington state, schools have support programs, but they appear to be disconnected. There's a lot of energy in terms of people who would like to help, but a more cohesive effort in reaching out to adolescents and providing services is important."

Reed and her team are working on a follow-up study, analyzing parental military service and adolescent behaviors of school-based physical fighting, weapon carrying and gang membership.

Funding for the study was supported by a grant from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Co-authors on the study include Janice Bell, UW assistant professor of health services, and Todd Edwards, UW research assistant professor of health services, both in the UW School of Public Health.

Source:
Mary Guiden
University of Washington

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