Children in military families experience stressors associated with military life that may affect every stage of their lives and disrupt normal development. Family separations due to deployments or other military-related duties, for instance, have been shown to be stressors for military families. Negative outcomes include higher levels of internalizing behaviour and psychopathological symptoms, decreased academic performance, intense feelings of sadness, loneliness, abandonment and anger, and acting-out behaviours. Poor child well-being will likely negatively impact the wellness of the military family and, ultimately, affect the operational readiness of the serving member. Nonetheless, very little research has been conducted in this area.This technical report is a detailed summary of the findings of the NATO RTG HFM-258, The Impact of Military Life on Children from Military Families (January 2015 to January 2018), which involved nineteen representatives from NATO countries and partners. The objectives of the NATO working group were:1) To review the literature and identify key questions and issues related to the impact of military life on children from military families;2) To develop a universal framework for well-being of children in military families and tooperationalize the term well-being in this context;3) To identify differences and similarities in the well-being of children from military families across different nations as a function of programs available in these nations; and4) To promote and serve as a form for active collaboration (e.g., survey development, metrics to guide future work).
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