Parental military service and adolescent well-being: Mental health, social connections and coping among youth in the USA
Research SummaryAPA Citation:
Lucier-Greer, M., Arnold, A. L., Grimsley, R. N., Ford, J. L., Bryant, C., & Mancini, J. A. (2014). Parental military service and adolescent well-being: Mental health, social connections, and coping among youth in the USA. Child & Family Social Work, 21(4), 421-432. doi:10.1111/cfs.12158
Abstract Created by REACH:
Adolescents who had at least one Active Duty military parent participated in a study examining the associations among demographic information, military- related factors, and well-being. Parental paygrade/rank and youth participation in military sponsored activities were associated with adolescent well-being.
Focus:
Children
Parents
Youth
Branch of Service:
Army
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Subject Affiliation:
Child of a service member or veteran
Population:
Childhood (birth - 12 yrs)
School age (6 - 12 yrs)
Adolescence (13 - 17 yrs)
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Methodology:
Empirical Study
Quantitative Study
Authors:
Lucier-Greer, Mallory, Arnold, Amy L., Grimsley, Rebecca N., Ford, James L., Bryant, Chalandra, Mancini, Jay A.
Abstract:
The association between parental military work factors and adolescent’s well-being was examined. Data were collected from 1036 military youth. Using a within-group design, we examined adolescent’s well-being related to parental absence, school and neighbourhood transitions, paygrade/rank and participation in military-sponsored activities, and differentiated outcomes by sex and age. Two parental work factors primarily influenced adolescent’s well-being, parental paygrade/rank and engagement in military-sponsored activities. Parental paygrade/rank was the only factor uniformly related to poorer well-being, and this variable likely represents a more complex set of family circumstances. Engaging in military-sponsored activities served as a resource and was related to enhanced well-being. Individual-level differences and implications for social workers are discussed.
Publisher/Sponsoring Organization:
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Publication Type:
Article
REACH Publication
Author Affiliation:
Department of Family and Child Sciences, Florida State University, MLG
Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, ALA
Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, RNG
Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, JLF
Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, CB
Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, JAM
Keywords:
adolescents, military families, resilience, usa, vulnerabilities
REACH Publication Type:
Research Summary
Sponsors:
US Department of Agriculture, US, Grant Number: 2009-48680-06069