Unlocking Insights about Military Children and Families

Abstract

As this issue of the Future of Children makes clear, we have much yet to learn about military children and their families. A big part of the reason, write Anita Chandra and Andrew London, is that we lack sufficiently robust sources of data. Until we collect more and better data about military families, Chandra and London say, we will not be able to study the breadth of their experiences and sources of resilience, distinguish among subgroups within the diverse military community, or compare military children with their civilian counterparts. After surveying the available sources of data and explaining what they are lacking and why, Chandra and London make several recommendations. First, they say, major longitudinal national surveys, as well as administrative data systems (for example, in health care and in schools), should routinely ask about children's connections to the military, so that military families can be flagged in statistical analyses. Second, questions on national surveys and psychological assessments should be formulated and calibrated for military children to be certain that they resonate with military culture. Third, researchers who study military children should consider adopting a life-course perspective, examining children from birth to adulthood as they and their families move through the transitions of military life and into or out of the civilian world.

Evaluating Behavioral Health Interventions for Military-Connected Youth: A Systematic Review

“…Limited research funding or ability to obtain permission to access and conduct research with military populations may also account for variability in sample characteristics. 47 Wooten et al 45 describe innovative recruitment strategies, including social media and remote communications, and also highlight the need for permission from senior leadership and multiple institutional review board approvals to conduct research with military populations. Future research may benefit from an examination of how technology and other nontraditional recruitment strategies can be utilized to recruit military-connected youth and their families for research.…”

The Impact of Parental Operational Stress Injury on Child Mental Health and Well-Being: A Scoping Review

“…There is a scarcity of international research to inform programming, interventions, and policy; and within the existing research is little methodological rigor (Campbell et al, 2011;Catani, 2010;Cederbaum et al, 2014;Chandra & London, 2013;Cozza, 2011;Cozza, Haskins, et al, 2013;Lester & Flake, 2013;McFarlane, 2009;Milburn & Lightfoot, 2013;Park, 2011;Ray & Heaslip, 2011;Sherman, 2014).…”

“…A range of perspectives is required, including self-report from older children and adolescents (Chandra et al, 2010;Esposito-Smythers et al, 2011;Milburn & Lightfoot, 2013;Park, 2011;Ternus, 2010). This type of reporting requires that measurement tools need to be either developed or adapted and validated to ensure they are suitable to this population (Chandra & London, 2013;Lester & Flake, 2013). To support increased research in this area, data infrastructure options will need to be explored, including expanding data collection and how national survey and administrative data can be made useful and available to researchers working with military families.…”

“…To support increased research in this area, data infrastructure options will need to be explored, including expanding data collection and how national survey and administrative data can be made useful and available to researchers working with military families. Researchers currently have had limited access to this population, making it difficult to further develop the field (Chandra & London, 2013;Lester & Flake, 2013;Maholmes, 2012).…”

Impact of Deployment on Military Families

“…In addition, with the number of wounded warriors returning from the recent confl icts, more research is needed to explore the effects of PTSD, amputations, traumatic head injury, and other injuries and/or rehabilitative processes on the family and family members (Chandra & London, 2013;Herzog, Everson, & Whitworth, 2011).…”