Assessing Operation Purple: A Program Evaluation of a Summer Camp for Military Youth.

摘要

Over the past decade, research has highlighted the challenges that parental deployment can pose for the health and well-being of youth from military families. Cumulative months of parental deployment and associated stressors can have negative consequences for youth (De Pedro et al., 2011; Flake et al., 2009; Chandra, Lara-Cinisomo, et al., 2010; Chandra, Lara- Cinisomo, et al., 2011; Cozza, 2011) and for parents (Chartrand et al., 2008; Lara-Cinisomo et al., 2012). Although most military youth can navigate these experiences with little or no negative impact, these changes can cause distress among some youth. Studies from recent conflicts indicate that around one-third of children of deployed parents face higher levels of emotional difficulties and anxiety symptoms than youth in the general population (Flake et al., 2009; Chandra, Lara-Cinisomo, et al., 2010; Lester, Peterson, et al., 2010; Lester, Mogil, et al., 2011; Lester, Saltzman, et al., 2012; Chandra, Lara-Cinisomo, et al., 2011; Cozza, 2011). In addition, some military youth have reported challenges to the quality of peer and parent-child relationships (Huebner and Mancini, 2005) and academic problems, particularly those who have experienced 19 months or more of parental deployment (Richardson et al., 2011; Chandra, Martin, et al., 2010).