Rand Corporation, Arlington, Virginia 22202, USA.
Pediatrics. 2010 Jan;125(1):16-25. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-1180. Epub 2009 Dec 7.
Although studies have begun to explore the impact of the current wars on child well-being, none have examined how children are doing across social, emotional, and academic domains. In this study, we describe the health and well-being of children from military families from the perspectives of the child and nondeployed parent. We also assessed the experience of deployment for children and how it varies according to deployment length and military service component. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS. Data from a computer-assisted telephone interview with military children, aged 11 to 17 years, and nondeployed caregivers (n = 1507) were used to assess child well-being and difficulties with deployment. Multivariate regression analyses assessed the association between family characteristics, deployment histories, and child outcomes.
After controlling for family and service-member characteristics, children in this study had more emotional difficulties compared with national samples. Older youth and girls of all ages reported significantly more school-, family-, and peer-related difficulties with parental deployment (P < .01). Length of parental deployment and poorer nondeployed caregiver mental health were significantly associated with a greater number of challenges for children both during deployment and deployed-parent reintegration (P < .01). Family characteristics (eg, living in rented housing) were also associated with difficulties with deployment.
Families that experienced more total months of parental deployment may benefit from targeted support to deal with stressors that emerge over time. Also, families in which caregivers experience poorer mental health may benefit from programs that support the caregiver and child.
尽管已有研究开始探讨当前战争对儿童福祉的影响，但尚无研究调查儿童在社会、情感和学业领域的表现。本研究从儿童和未部署家长的角度描述了军人家庭儿童的健康和福祉状况。我们还评估了儿童的部署经历及其如何根据部署时间长短和军事服务部门的不同而有所不同。
本研究使用了来自年龄在 11 至 17 岁之间的军人儿童及其未部署照护者（n=1507）的计算机辅助电话访谈数据，以评估儿童的福祉和与部署相关的困难。多变量回归分析评估了家庭特征、部署史与儿童结局之间的关联。
在控制了家庭和军人特征后，与全国样本相比，本研究中的儿童表现出更多的情绪困难。年龄较大的青少年和各年龄段的女孩报告称，父母部署期间在学业、家庭和同伴方面遇到了更多的困难（P<.01）。父母部署时间的长短和未部署照护者较差的心理健康状况与儿童在部署期间和部署后父母重新融入家庭时面临的更多挑战显著相关（P<.01）。家庭特征（例如，租住住房）也与与部署相关的困难有关。
经历了更多父母部署总月数的家庭可能需要得到有针对性的支持，以应对随时间推移而出现的压力源。此外，照护者心理健康较差的家庭可能需要得到支持照护者和儿童的项目的帮助。
