Search Results
Publication Date
Military REACH Publications
Focus Terms
Military Branch of Service
Sample Affiliation
Age Group
Military Affiliation
Publication Type
1.Unraveling the interplay between self-efficacy and decision-making in military contexts: A systematic review
Authors
Year
2.Military culture and collaborative decision-making in mental healthcare: Cultural, communication and policy considerations
Authors
Year
3.Decision-making during the deployment cycle
Authors
Year
4.Examining complex program adoption decision-making in a health pilot for U.S. women military veterans: A single revelatory case study
Authors
Year
5.Novel shared decision-making tool improves contraceptive screening and right care during pregnancy in a military hospital: A quality improvement report
Authors
Year
6.Decide + be ready: A contraceptive decision-making mobile application for servicewomen
Authors
Year
7.Patient-provider shared decision-making, trust, and opioid misuse among US veterans prescribed long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain
Authors
Year
8.Veteran’s lived experience with toxicity: Impacts on decision making
Authors
Year
9.Guiding Army commanders’ decision-making process in managing their suicide prevention programs
Authors
Year
10.Serving on multiple fronts: A grounded theory model of complex decision-making in military mental health care
Authors
Year
11.Student veterans’ career decision-making and college stress: college environment, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and sense of coherence
Authors
Year
12.Decision-making about artificial feeding in end-of-life care: Literature review
Authors
Year
13.Why veterans choose VA versus non-VA emergency care: A qualitative study
Authors
Year
14.Service members’ couple finances: An examination of financial anxiety, financial decision-making, and agreement on spending and relationship outcomes
Authors
Year
15.An exploratory pilot study to describe shared decision-making for PTSD treatment planning: The provider perspective
Authors
Year
16.Domestic abuse and military families: The problem of reintegration and control
Authors
Year
17.Sustaining performance under stress: Overview of this issue
Authors
Year
18.Comparing military and civilian household finances: Descriptive evidence from recent surveys
Authors
Year
19.Implementing an evidence-based practices training curriculum to U.S. Army child and family behavioral health providers
Authors
Year
20.K-8 teachers’ perspectives of social-emotional learning on children of military personnel
Authors
Year
Research summaries convey terminology used by the scientists who authored the original research article; some terminology may not align with the federal government's mandated language for certain constructs.
FINANCIAL READINESS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES
My family and I recently went on a road trip. As we loaded up our car, my husband asked, “Is everybody ready?” With excitement, my kids yelled back, “Yes, dad! Let’s go!” But have you ever thought about what it means to be “ready”? In terms of our road trip, it meant that we had all our necessities, along with a plan and directions to get us where we wanted to go. When it comes to being financially ready, we can think about our financial journeys in the notion of preparing for a road trip. In that case, ask yourself: What does it mean to have financial readiness? What is Financial Readiness? The Office of Financial Readiness defines the term as "the state in which successful management of personal financial responsibilities supports Service members' ability to perform their wartime duties." For military families to be financially ready, each family member must participate equally and engage actively with financial responsibilities. This means – but is by no means limited to – saving for emergencies, paying bills on time, and living within your means. What Does it Mean to be Financially Ready? When military families feel confident about their personal finances, they can better focus on their day-to-day tasks (i.e., work duties, household responsibilities) and minimize financial stress. Families equipped with the latest financial information can make responsible, educated decisions regarding their financial readiness. Put simply, being financially ready means that Service members and their families are prepared for whatever lies ahead. It means they have: • The ability to respond to new financial opportunities. This might include purchasing a home, starting a new business, or going on a dream vacation. • The flexibility to make financial decisions for the future as well as the present (e.g., saving for child’s college fund, investing in a retirement account); • The tools to remain stable and equipped for unforeseen emergencies (e.g., unexpected medical expenses, replacing flooring in your home after a flood). Why does Financial Readiness Matter? Financial readiness matters because it can directly impact the entire military family. Unresolved financial issues can place significant stress on personal and familial relationships. A lack of financial preparedness may limit Service members’ and their families’ ability to achieve both short- and long-term goals, especially as they transition from the military into civilian life. Furthermore, Service members and their families distracted by financial problems lack the ability to plan for and complete their missions. For example, financial difficulties are considered “an indication of poor self-control, a lack of judgement, or a disregard for rules and regulations” and an overall detriment to the mission of a “ready military.” This means that Service members with a poor financial history (e.g., unpaid debts resulting in collections, excessive gambling, living beyond one’s own means) are a higher security risk. Thus, Service members with financial problems may find security clearances difficult to obtain, or have clearances revoked altogether. Takeaways Helping professionals might ask Service members and their families to think about their financial journey as a road map. To illustrate, consider these steps as you assist military families to achieve financial readiness: 1. Allow family members to share a vision of how their financial journey ends. This is a creative way to get them thinking about the opportunities their financial future might hold. You might ask, “What is your financial end goal?” 2. Assist military families in establishing financial [SMART] goals. Grounded in personal and financial values, each family member shares their financial goal. 3. Co-create mile markers that lead military families to their financial destination. Each family member can be actively involved and have an equal say in the financial decision-making process – generating a plan to achieve financial readiness one step at a time. 4. Share current education and resources on financially relevant topics. Provide military families with tools for navigating their financial road map. Is financial education outside your professional scope? Refer Service members and their families to a Personal Financial Counselor. 5. Finally, follow up: Plan weekly or monthly check-ins. Achieving big goals means completing plenty of small ones. Scheduling pit stops with Service members and their families helps ensure they reach their mile markers. Without pit stops, families may get discouraged and wander off the map.
FATHERS IN THE MILITARY
Balancing parental and work responsibilities is difficult enough – but did you know that around 37% of the United States Armed Forces’ 1.3 million active-duty Service members have children? Thankfully, there’s a wealth of research on these families’ experiences. Today, we’ll consider research regarding fathers’ experiences in the military, paying particular attention to how fathers navigate parenting during challenges like deployment and reintegration. We’ll discuss some of the difficulties military fathers face during deployment and reintegration, along with how they affect military fathers and their children. We’ll also provide parenting resources intended to help balance work and family life. Common challenges among military fathers and how they impact the family Service member fathers face many parenting difficulties during their military careers, but two of the biggest challenges are deployment and reintegration. Deployment is a stressful time for military families. The extended separation they face can take an especially heavy toll on fathers. Research shows that when fathers perceive a threat to their safety during deployment, their parenting becomes less sensitive. This, in turn, may cause their children to exhibit social and emotional difficulties (e.g., poor peer interactions, unhealthy emotional expression) as well as behavioral problems (e.g., hyperactivity, defiance). Similarly, deployed fathers who have difficulty managing their emotions may engage in more coercive parenting (e.g., irritability, bossiness, persistent negativity). Coercive parenting, in turn, is linked to poorer overall well-being for children, with outcomes including internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing behaviors (e.g., aggression, hyperactivity). Reintegration, the period of a Service member’s adjustment to “normal” life after deployment, also poses challenges for returning fathers. Reintegration, like deployment, is often associated with increased stress for the entire family. Returning fathers report less patience, more irritability, and more communication problems with their family during reintegration. Research further finds that military fathers’ mental health concerns (e.g., depression, posttraumatic stress disorder) can also contribute to their children’s’ behavioral problems years after reintegration. Additionally, stress during reintegration sometimes leads to less emotionally sensitive parenting (e.g., less supportive, not supervising children as needed) by military fathers, which can have consequences for child adjustment (e.g., behavioral problems) during reintegration as well. How fathers can mitigate the risks of military-related parenting challenges Being a father and Service member does not automatically result in negative consequences for your children: frequent father involvement contributes to better parent and child well-being. Specifically, when fathers spend more time with their children both at home (e.g., recreation, shared activities) and during deployment (e.g., setting time each week for video calls) their well-being is greater. Spending time with their child also gives fathers untold opportunity to model positive parenting practices, such as supporting the child’s decision-making and encouraging positive behavior. Military-related stressors such as long periods of separation put military fathers’ own well-being at risk. Given this reality, it’s important that fathers care for themselves. Practicing mindfulness and self-care are useful ways for fathers to attend to their own emotional needs; the practices also serve as useful models for children. Furthermore, fathers should consider professional help to address their mental health concerns: such help in turn makes them better equipped to care for their children. Beyond mental health, fathers may choose to address the quality of their parental relationships. Evidence suggests that a father’s relationship with his child’s mother affects the child’s mental health (e.g., depression). Military fathers might therefore invest in their romantic relationships with couples counseling or relationship education in order to reduce potential negative consequences for their children. Lastly, fathers can also mitigate the risk of parenting challenges by attending parenting programs. The Department of Defense has invested in evidence-based parenting programs and resources to promote military family readiness and resilience. These programs address a variety of family-related topics, including parent-child communication, bonding with children, and finding a new “normal” upon returning from deployment. To learn more about these programs, check out the resources listed at Military OneSource. Despite facing many challenges in balancing work and family responsibilities, military fathers continue to be resilient and positively impact their children. By using an abundance of resources for military families and improving their parenting skills as a result, fathers can ease the burden of Service-related challenges borne by both the family and themselves.