Study: Kids of deployed military have more behavioral problems

[unhappycamper]

Research shows that children of enlisted Army soldiers are more likely to suffer maltreatment when a parent is away in combat, and Army wives are more likely to be diagnosed with depression.


Study: Kids of deployed military have more behavioral problems
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

A new study suggests nine years of war is taking a toll on U.S. children.

Children of active-duty military personnel make 18% more trips to the doctor for behavioral problems and 19% more visits for stress disorders when a military parent is deployed compared with when the parent is home, according to a study of children ages 3 to 8 in today's Pediatrics.

Those increases are even more striking given that the overall number of doctors' visits declined 11% during deployment, perhaps because the lone parent at home was so busy, says study author Gregory Gorman, who analyzed the medical records of nearly 643,000 children and 443,000 parents from 2006 to 2007.

Gorman, a pediatrician with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., says military doctors are usually aware of the burden on such children, but he hopes more civilian doctors, who care for two-thirds of kids in military families, will find out if a parent is deployed and ask how families are coping.

Research shows that kids of enlisted Army soldiers are more likely to suffer maltreatment when a parent is in combat and that Army wives are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, sleep disorders or other mental health conditions when their husbands are deployed.

[w8liftinglady]

1. that is so freaking sad.i remember being a kid when my dad was in Vietnam

especially over the holidays.I was 4 the first time he went.14 the last time.missed a total of 8 Christmases.it sucked like you wouldn't believe.Luckily,I lived on Ft. Meade ... so there were a LOT of kids in the same boat.Unfortunately,a lot of them lost their dads,too.

there are a few programs for military kids to help with this.I'll try to post later if anyone needs access.

[Bragi]

11. Vietnam was a draft, not a volunteer situation

That's a big difference. If leaders in a society thinks war is unavoidable, then I think they should make military service mandatory.

[w8liftinglady]

22. Vietnam was not an exclusive draft.My uncle was drafted.my dad and partner were not

It fucked with all three of them.

Before making such sweeping statements about abuse,I suggest you do a little research on PTSD.
My dad had the internal kind...what you see in most PTSD sufferers.they internalize,self-abuse...anything to spare the kids.
war is fucking war.i've protested Iraq since the middle of my son's first deployment(2003)...after he-a mechanic- had to kill a few.It didn't stop him from getting sent back a few times.
My dad thought he was doing the right thing in Vietnam...he joined the service in 1957.he spent more time IN Vietnam than out of it,in intelligence.
My ex was from a mining family in West Virginia...the military was the only way out of their shithole existence.he was lucky enough to get Gulf War Syndrome after being in the Signal Corp.
My partner is a Vietnam and Gulf war 1 vet.he loves animals,was an MP and dog handler.he was also from the swamps of Louisiana.he joined rather than be drafted so that he could escape the poverty and hopefully go to college.

when we clump them all in one category,we are no better than the ones we criticize about prejudice,bigotry.There are many victims of war.
We DO need to stop the wars,I agree.We don't need to add to the shit these guys already feel by telling them they abuse their kids simply by being in the military.

[Bragi]

2. Going to war is a form of child abuse

Seriously, what is a parent of young children thinking when they voluntarily decide to sign up for a job that will take them away on dangerous foreign missions while their families are left behind to spend every day worrying about their absent loved one?

And what are we as a society thinking when we make an effort to target for recruitment people who are parents of young children for service in our unending stream of aggressive occupations and shooting wars?

I don't know what others call it when someone leaves their children to worry every hour of every day about whether their parent will survive the day, but I know what I call it: it's a form of child abuse.

[w8liftinglady]

3. probably that he needs to feed his children...there are no jobs here,in case you haven't noticed

most of the young vets I know who have children say that very thing...they re-enlisted because there was no job waiting on the outside...wife couldn't find a job working for much more than min wage, they couldn't find off-base housing they could afford, their kids needed dental/medical care.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out.

And society, as a whole, could give a damn about helping that. It's the un-American thing to do, help a man/woman provide.

[Bragi]

4. It's still child abuse

You make a good point that many people with small children go into the military because they lack any other opportunity. I regret that this is indeed the case. However, the end result is still a form of child abuse.

I'd just like us to call it what it is. If this doesn't shame us into deciding that our wars and our bloated military are unacceptable, then it is our shame. The children of soldiers who are among the victims of our wars still suffer abuse.

For my part, I think it takes more guts for parents to refuse to be sucked into the military than it does to join up and let your kids suffer the consequences.

[w8liftinglady]

6. I was one of those "victims"...as were a lot of kids during my generation

Somehow,I don't think this 'realization" would have helped me in my recovery.It would have made me hate my dad.
It was bad enough what the war did to my dad.Holding him guilty for abusing me would have literally been the same as putting a gun to his head.Instead,he died a slow death,so as to spare us.

[Bragi]

9. I'm not promoting hatred against parents

I understand there is a big difference between a mandatory military draft situation, and a voluntary decision by a parent to sign up for war, despite its adverse impact on their children.

[w8liftinglady]

12. my dad was a volunteer.So was my son.so was my ex.So was my grandpa

what is the alternative?

25% unemployment rate for Iraq war vets.

How,pray tell, do we help them not to re-enlist?
yes,they may not have a "comfortable" living...it's called a box...or if they are lucky,a car.
i know..I volunteer with The NCHV..lots of female troops with children in there.

[JonLP24]

13. I'm mostly unemployed

I find part time work from time-to-time but it is very slow and has been for a couple of years.

I would re-enlist in a heartbeat if I could.

[Bragi]

16. And if you have children...

They would suffer in consequence of your decision to re-enlist.

To be clear, they would also suffer adverse consequences from being raised in a low income household. But I think that if you left it to your loved ones to decide which they might dread most -- being low income, or worrying every day about your safety and your life -- then they may well choose to do without a few things they'd like to have, rather than risk worrying about, and maybe facing, life without you forever.

[JonLP24]

19. I'm single now

which is why it would be in a heartbeat. I would be able to save money. The only reason why I said "heartbeat" is because for the most part I'm broke.

When I was in I was married, she does have a children (though I'm not sure how affected they were by me being deployed), so I wasn't able to save any money. I didn't mind at all because I had no problems supporting my family as much as I possibly could financially. We got divorced about a year after I came back from deployment. In case you're alarmed, those children are from a prior marriage she had. They aren't biologically mine.

[Bragi]

15. We could be honest with them about their choices

I think we could be honest with parents who show up to enlist by making it clear that a decision to enlist will most likely be harmful to the mental health of their children and their spouses.

In other words, we could be honest with them about the impact of their decision on their loved ones.

I think one way of doing this would be for some of the peace groups to start talking openly and honestly about this aspect of our growing "neo-warrior" culture.

Far as I can tell, most people, including people who openly advocate peace, are afraid to speak the truth about this.

[CBGLuthier]

5. Idealism 101

We could have chocolate park benches if people would agree not to eat them.


Child Abuse My Ass!!!

[Bragi]

7. Why can't parents "Just Say No" to going to war?

You make it sound like it would be impossible for a parent to say: "I know I could be looked after comfortably if I signed up, but the effect on my kids could be devastating, so I will find some other way of making a living?"

[blueamy66]

18. AGREED.

But there has to be a happy medium.....ya know?

[JonLP24]

8. Combat tours

can be tougher of the immediate family than the actual soldier. The reason is the soldier is there, he/she knows what places are safe and what not, when to worry, when not to worry. That kind of thing. The spouse or kids have no clue what it is like and could constantly worry. It is the fear of the unknown.

[Bragi]

10. I agree entirely /nt

[southernyankeebelle]

14. I come from a family of career enlisted soldiers. The families that are left behind when a parent

is away is such a big burden. Saying that many wouldn't trade that life's experience for anything.

[HopeHoops]

17. Ya think? - "Where's Daddy/Mommy?"

"Oh, he/she is just over in Iraq/Afghanistan/TBD trying to blow the crap out of people who may or may not be trying to blow the crap out of him/her."

"Well, THAT sucks."

[MindPilot]

20. This has to be the "well, duh!" story of the day.

--an Air Force brat.

[treestar]

21. Always had a feeling that was true

The moving around so much has to be hard on kids.

[Bragi]

23. Lots of people move around

But why should kids have to spend their days worrying if someone might show up at their doorstep telling them that their parent has been killed?

That's a dreadful burden to put on a child.

[treestar]

24. Anyone can have that risk

though it's greater for the military.

They do move around more. I've heard, "I'm not from anywhere, I'm an army brat."

[Dappleganger]

25. Tell me about it, navy brat here who grew up

in a neighborhood of military (retired and current). Lots and lots of stories of kids gone wild, but then there were parents who kept their shit together and did it right. The biggest problem I believe was near-poverty income levels, however.