School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
J Adolesc Health. 2014 Jun;54(6):672-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.09.006. Epub 2013 Nov 17.
The mental health of children is a primary public health concern; adolescents of military personnel may be at increased risk of experiencing poorer well-being overall and depressive symptoms specifically. These adolescents experience individual and intrafamilial stressors of parental deployment and reintegration, which are directly and indirectly associated with internalizing behaviors.
The present study sought to better understand the influence of parental military connectedness and parental deployment on adolescent mental health.
Data from the 2011 California Healthy Kids Survey examined feeling sad or hopeless, suicidal ideation, well-being, and depressive symptoms by military connectedness in a subsample (n = 14,299) of seventh-, ninth-, and 11th-grade California adolescents. Cross-classification tables and multiple logistic regression analyses were used.
More than 13% of the sample had a parent or sibling in the military. Those with military connections were more likely to report depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Controlling for grade, gender, and race/ethnicity, reporting any familial deployment compared with no deployments was associated with increasing odds of experiencing sadness or hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation.
Findings emphasize the increased risk of mental health issues among youth with parents (and siblings) in the military. Although deployment-related mental health stressors are less likely during peace, during times of war there is a need for increased screening in primary care and school settings. Systematic referral systems and collaboration with community-based mental health centers will bolster screening and services.
儿童的心理健康是主要的公共卫生关注点；军人的青少年可能整体上更有可能经历较差的幸福感，尤其是抑郁症状。这些青少年经历着父母部署和重新融入所带来的个体和家庭内部压力源，这些压力源直接和间接地与内化行为有关。
本研究旨在更好地了解父母与军队的联系以及父母的部署对青少年心理健康的影响。
2011 年加利福尼亚健康儿童调查的数据，通过对加利福尼亚州 7 、 9 和 11 年级青少年样本（n=14299）中与军队的联系，检查了悲伤或绝望、自杀意念、幸福感和抑郁症状。使用交叉分类表和多逻辑回归分析。
超过 13%的样本中有父母或兄弟姐妹在军队中。有军队关系的人更有可能报告抑郁症状和自杀意念。控制年级、性别和种族/民族，与没有部署相比，报告任何家庭部署都与经历悲伤或绝望、抑郁症状和自杀意念的几率增加有关。
研究结果强调了父母（和兄弟姐妹）在军队中的青少年心理健康问题的风险增加。尽管在和平时期，与部署相关的心理健康压力源不太可能发生，但在战争时期，需要在初级保健和学校环境中增加筛查。系统的转诊系统和与社区心理健康中心的合作将加强筛查和服务。
