Easterbrooks M Ann, Ginsburg Kenneth, Lerner Richard M
Future Child. 2013 Fall;23(2):99-120. doi: 10.1353/foc.2013.0014.
Much research on children in military families has taken a deficit approach--that is, it has portrayed these children as a population susceptible to psychological damage from the hardships of military life, such as frequent moves and separation from their parents during deployment. But M. Ann Easterbrooks, Kenneth Ginsburg, and Richard M. Lerner observe that most military children turn out just fine. They argue that, to better serve military children, we must understand the sources of strength that help them cope with adversity and thrive. In other words, we must understand their resilience. The authors stress that resilience is not a personal trait but a product of the relationships between children and the people and resources around them. In this sense, military life, along with its hardships, offers many sources for resilience--for example, a strong sense of belonging to a supportive community with a shared mission and values. Similarly, children whose parents are deployed may build their self-confidence by taking on new responsibilities in the family, and moving offers opportunities for adventure and personal growth. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drew more and more service members into combat, the military and civilian groups alike rolled out dozens of programs aimed at boosting military children's resilience. Although the authors applaud this effort, they also note that few of these programs have been based on scientific evidence of what works, and few have been rigorously evaluated for their effectiveness. They call for a program of sustained research to boost our understanding of military children's resilience.
许多针对军人家庭中儿童的研究都采用了缺陷视角——也就是说，这些研究将这些儿童描绘成易受军事生活艰辛（如频繁搬家以及父母在部署期间与之分离）造成心理伤害的群体。但M. 安·伊斯特布鲁克斯、肯尼斯·金斯伯格和理查德·M. 勒纳指出，大多数军人子女最终都发展得很好。他们认为，为了更好地服务军人子女，我们必须了解有助于他们应对逆境并茁壮成长的力量来源。换句话说，我们必须了解他们的复原力。作者强调，复原力不是一种个人特质，而是儿童与周围的人和资源之间关系的产物。从这个意义上说，军事生活及其艰辛为复原力提供了许多来源——例如，强烈的归属感，这种归属感来自于一个有着共同使命和价值观、给予支持的社区。同样，父母被部署的孩子可能会通过在家庭中承担新责任来建立自信，而搬家则为冒险和个人成长提供了机会。随着伊拉克和阿富汗战争使越来越多的军人投入战斗，军方和民间团体都推出了几十项旨在增强军人子女复原力的项目。尽管作者对这一努力表示赞赏，但他们也指出，这些项目中很少有基于有效方法的科学依据，而且很少有经过严格评估其有效性的。他们呼吁开展一项持续研究计划，以增进我们对军人子女复原力的理解。
