Castaneda, L. W., Harrell, M. C., Varda, D. M., Hall, K. C., Beckett, M. K., & Stern, S. (2008). Deployment experiences of Guard and Reserve families: Implications for support and retention (National Defense Research Institute, pp. 1-369, Rep.). Arlington, VA: RAND Report.

Children
Couples
Deployment
Mental health
Other

Air Force
Army
Marine Corps
Multiple branches

Guard
Reserve

Guard/Reserve member
Military families
Spouse of service member or veteran

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)

Qualitative Study
Quantitative Study

Castaneda, Laura W., Harrell, Margaret C., Varda, Danielle M., Hall, Kimberly C., Beckett, Megan K., Stern, Stefanie

Use of the Guard and Reserve has steadily increased since the first Gulf War in the early 1990s, and this trend is likely to continue as the Global War on Terror persists. Previous research on how deployments affect military families has focused almost exclusively on the Active Component; however, demographic differences between active component and reserve component families suggest that the latter may face different issues during deployment and consequently require different types of support. Castaneda et al. interviewed military family experts and guard and reserve service members and spouses about topics including family readiness for deployment, the problems and positives associated with deployment, family coping, resources used by these families for deployment support, and service member military career intentions. The authors analyzed data from over 600 interviews to provide a better understanding of the major issues faced by guard and reserve families, how they vary among families who differ demographically, and how they may relate to military career intentions. Castaneda et al. conclude with suggestions on how the Department of Defense can better support guard and reserve families, noting that such efforts can both promote general family well-being and increase service member readiness and retention.

Forces and Resources Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute

Research and technical reports

National Defense Research Institute, RAND Report, LWC
National Defense Research Institute, RAND Report, MCH
National Defense Research Institute, RAND Report, DMV
National Defense Research Institute, RAND Report, KCH
National Defense Research Institute, RAND Report, MKB
National Defense Research Institute, RAND Report, SS