Pilot study of a pre-deployment parent coaching program for military families with young children
Research Report:
Research SummaryAPA Citation:
Louie, A. D., Barlaan, D. R., & Cromer, L. M. (2021). Pilot study of a pre-deployment parent coaching program for military families with young children. Military Behavioral Health, 9(2), 151-159. https://doi.org/10.1080/21635781.2020.1819487
Abstract Created by REACH:
This study examined the feasibility and effectiveness of a two-week telehealth parenting coaching program designed to reduce stress and help children prepare for parental deployment. Civilian mothers in the treatment group (n = 6) were emailed information on parenting and received several phone calls from a trained clinician to discuss the materials and resolve parenting challenges. Those in the control group (n = 7) were not provided these parenting support materials until the study was completed. All civilian mothers provided data on predeployment preparation strategies (i.e., ways to help children prepare for the Service member’s deployment) at predeployment (Time 1) and on their own emotion regulation difficulties, parenting stress, parenting competence, and parenting hassles three weeks after the Service member had deployed (Time 2). The findings indicated that telehealth parenting coaching programs may be feasible and effective for military families but that further study is warranted.
Focus:
Deployment
Parents
Programming
Branch of Service:
Air Force
Army
Navy
Multiple branches
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Subject Affiliation:
Spouse of service member or veteran
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Methodology:
Longitudinal Study
Mixed-method
Authors:
Louie, Ashley D., Barlaan, Devin R., Cromer, Lisa DeMarni
Abstract:
The most stressful phase of deployment for military families with young children is pre-deployment; they are often overlooked in family preparation strategies. Failure to prepare young children may put them at risk for disrupted attachment and it can increase parenting stress. Preparing young children for deployment could buffer the potential negative impact by reducing associated parenting stress and empowering parents with attachment-strengthening strategies. Telephone-based interventions are the preferred method of service delivery among military families. The current study randomly assigned (N = 13) mothers of children who were under age five, to either a control group (n = 6) or to a telephone-administered pre-deployment parent coaching program (n = 7). Parent coaching was comprised of two content modules and two follow-up calls. Feasibility analysis of the assessment and implementation procedures are provided. There were large effect sizes for reduced parenting stress and increased parenting competence and emotion regulation. Between subjects comparisons found small and medium effect sizes for the parenting coaching compared to controls on number and intensity or parenting hassles. Preliminary data are promising, suggesting that investigation of the parent coaching program with larger samples is possible.
Publisher/Sponsoring Organization:
Taylor & Francis
Publication Type:
Article
REACH Publication
Author Affiliation:
Department of Psychologcy, The University of Tulsa, LDC
Keywords:
feasibility, parenting, pre-deployment, telehealth, young children
REACH Publication Type:
Research Summary
Sponsors:
This research was funded by the Student Research Grant from The University of Tulsa’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
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