An exploration of the impact of lengthy parental war deployments on military dependent adolescents (ages 18-19).

摘要

The United States (U.S.) Armed Forces commitment to protecting America's citizens against the Middle Eastern terrorist attacks has caused disruption in the nation, specifically within the military community. Parental absenteeism escalated as military parents engaged in war deployment. Recent research studies indicated support services, offered by the military, have been used as a means of providing assistance to military families but fail to address the age and developmental needs of military children (Park, 2011). This study presents a qualitative interpretive analysis to comprehending how the U. S. Army's military dependent adolescents cope with lengthy parental war deployment impacts. Twenty study participants, military dependent adolescents (age 18 to 19), associated personal lived experiences of coping with deployment-related stressors throughout the lengthy parental war deployment. Data analysis using NVivo 10 qualitative research data analysis software resulted in identification of four major themes relating to how lengthy parental war deployments affect military dependent adolescents, age 18 to 19: (a) parent-child relationship impacts, (b) psychological and sociological impacts, (c) living arrangement issues, and (d) support networks. The study outcomes provide to parents, military leadership, educational administrators, physicians, and psychotherapist with military dependent adolescents' (age 18 to 19) insights, expressed by participants, of the military parent-child relationship impacts and support services effectiveness throughout the lengthy parental war deployment.