Military-connected adolescents’ emotional and behavioral risk status: Comparisons of universal screening data and national norms

Vannest, K. J., Carrero, K. M., Patience, B., Price, G., Altmann, R., Haas, A., & Smith, S. (2021). Military-connected adolescents’ emotional and behavioral risk status: Comparisons of universal screening data and national norms. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30, 134-145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01887-y

Previous studies examining differences in emotional and behavioral problems between military and civilian students have produced inconsistent results, in part due to measurement concerns. Using a well-established measure of emotional and behavioral problems, this study compared the risk of emotional and behavioral problems (e.g., worries a lot, easily upset, disrupts others, breaks rules) for military-affiliated students (n = 575) and non-military affiliated students (n = 2,277), while also considering differences across gender and age. Furthermore, the risk of emotional and behavioral problems was compared to the national average. Few differences were observed in the risk of emotional or behavioral problems by military affiliation, but differences were found within the sample based on gender and age and when compared to the national average.

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