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Shelby Morrill

Prof. Echols

English 1201-503

5 April 2022

What experiences affect the mental health of military dependents, and how?

My dad has been active duty in the military for fourteen years, and my family and

I have been through a deployment and are currently anticipating an incredibly difficult

move. Throughout my dad’s military career, I have often wondered how the mental

health of military dependents is affected by their experiences. Some common

experiences for military dependents are deployment, relocation, and Post Traumatic

Stress Disorder (PTSD). Not all military dependents have the same experiences or

come from the same situation, so some of these experiences aren’t applicable to every

military child. Deployments cause stress and various other mental health issues for

dependents remaining at home, PTSD causes relationship stress between spouses,

and relocation causes stress yet also builds resilience.

The word “dependent” refers to somebody, like a spouse or child, who is

dependent on a member of the military for their livelihood. The dependents receive the

same benefits members of the military do such as insurance, health care, housing

assistance, discounts, and access to various amenities on the military base. The term

“deployment” refers to a period where a military member is sent to places such as the

Middle East for a period depending on the military branch. For example, the Air Force
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typically deploys a member every 2-3 years for 6 months or up to a year, while the army

deploys for 9 months up to a year (Morrill).

Studies focusing on military children start showing up post-World War II, and

these data indicate that deployments don’t have much effect at all on dependents and

their families (Vannest et al. 135). However, research following Vietnam suggests that

families experienced negative effects on mental health, and suffered from Military

Family Syndrome, which is when children begin acting out, fathers become

authoritarian, and mothers deal with depression (Vannest et al. 135). These conclusions

contradict each other, providing contrasting outcomes to similar situations. Vannest et

al. explains that even in the present, studies of military children are still at odds with

each other and can’t identify any clear patterns relating to the behavioral health of

children and their military experience (135). Most studies are not able to identify a

specific problem with military children, but when taken altogether they may be able to

provide a clearer conclusion.

We will begin with a study written by scholars and social workers Kimberly J.

Vannest et al., all various academics and social workers (134). The study was

conducted in a school in Louisianna with both military and civilian adolescents, and the

data for 2852 of the original 3111 participants was analyzed (Vannest et al. 138). They

screened participants from grades 3-5 and 9-12 for behavioral and emotional problems

(Vannest et al. 138-139).

Vannest et al. found that military kids in high school have a higher likelihood for

negative behavioral and emotional health outcomes than their civilian peers. The risk for

developing these issues was 26% for military students and 19% for civilian students,
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and the military students were seen to have higher levels of risk (Vannest et al. 140).

The difference between these two statistics isn’t large, but it’s still significant. This

supports the idea that having a parent in the military can negatively affect the mental

health of the dependent. Compared to their non-military peers, military high school

students had much higher risks for these mental health issues.

The stress risk for military children in elementary school was 28%, and 26% for

civilian kids, with a difference in the statistics Vannest et al. deems insignificant (140).

These particular findings almost contradict the idea that being a military dependent can

affect a child’s mental health. However, there is that slightly higher risk for the military

elementary students, as small as it may be, and although it isn’t quite large enough to

be a “warning bell” it still shows that the emotional health of these military children can

suffer.

Another reason why the difference between the risk statistics for elementary

school is so small while that of the high school is so significant is the age difference. Not

only did the study analyze the difference in risk likelihoods between military and civilian

students, but it also analyzed that of the elementary students vs. high school students.

The risk for high school students developing emotional and behavioral issues was 26%,

while the risk for elementary students was 20% (Vannest et al. 141). Elementary

students wouldn’t have quite so many issues with behaviors and emotions as high

schoolers would to begin with, so the fact that these elementary students are military

doesn’t change much. However, high school students would likely be more aware of

what is happening around them than elementary students would. So, a military high
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school student would understand more of what is happening during a deployment, for

example, than a military elementary school child.

Another study focusing on the behavioral health of military children was written

by Lexi St. John who is a certified school psychologist, and Pamela Fenning PhD (St.

John et al. 12). This study focuses on something slightly different than the study by

Vannest did, discussing mental health in addition to the aforementioned behavioral

health and focusing more on supporting the needs of military children in these areas.

The study explains that more than one million military children live in the United States

as of 2020 (St. John et al. 1), and mentions their exposure to many stressors, focusing

on relocation and deployments as examples.

St. John cites a different study by Gorman et al. that found that both behavioral

and stress disorders increase 18-19% and an 11% increase in behavioral and stress

healthcare visits in military children with a deployed parent (St. John et al. 2).

St. John cites another study, this one by Reed et al., which found that children in

grades 8, 10, and 12 who had a parent deployed were more likely to have suicidal

thoughts compared with their peers (St. John et al. 3). This is an example of the

additional mental health issues and stress that can be a result of a deployment.

These studies suggest that deployments influence the mental wellbeing of

military kids. It makes sense that there would be such a significant effect, as these

adolescents have a parent absent which can cause stress in the home.

A study conducted by Kathrine S. Sullivan and Yangjin Park from the Silver

School of Social Work, and Lyndon A. Riviere from the Center for military psychology,
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was focused on the different stressors experienced by spouses of military members. In

this study, a “stressor” is something like an experience or circumstance that challenges

the adaptive capacity and has a negative effect on mental health (Sullivan et al. 372).

They chose army spouses specifically and invited them to take part in a survey as part

of the study (Sullivan et al. 374). The specific stressors are represented in the figure

below. The participants in the study were then organized into three stress “classes”.

Class one was low stress and the largest group, class two was moderate stress, and

class three was high stress which was the smallest group (Sullivan et al. 379).

Fig. 1: This graph shows the three stress categories of low, moderate, and high. Each

bar represents a different stressor shown on the right-hand side, and each line

represents a percentage for low education, unemployment, and illness/ injury as shown

on the right-hand side. An ACE is an Adverse Childhood Event (Sullivan et al. 379).
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The first group, low stress, had included 58.86% of participants in the study

(Sullivan et al. 379). The study found that the spouses in this group had experienced

less spousal deployments and lower marital discord (Sullivan et al. 379). In the

moderate stress group, which included 21.62% of participants, the levels for marital

discord and work-family conflict were higher than in the first group, as was the amount

of spousal deployments experienced (Sullivan et al. 379). In the high stress group,

which was 19.52% of participants, there was a much higher level of injury/illness to

spouse during deployment, higher levels of work-family conflict and significantly higher

marital discord, but there were also lower levels of deployment (Sullivan et al. 379).

This suggests that deployment is a factor that increases stress in the military

spouses. However, the more prominent stressors mentioned having an effect were

marital discord and work-family conflict, which could be a result of a deployment.

H. Thomas de Burgh et al. wrote a review article in 2011 about deployments to

Iraq and Afghanistan and the effect they have on the spouses of military members. All

authors are academics from varying Universities and centers. De Burgh et al. compiles

different studies focusing on female civilian spouses of male military personnel (193).

The study concludes that female spouses are affected by stress before, during, and

after deployment (de Burgh et al. 198).

The study explains a finding by Burton et al. that spouses of deployed military

members experience stress levels twice as high as those of a non-deployed group (de

Burgh et al. 198). However, the study also explains that additional factors such as

mental health treatment, depression, and having children at home can also play a role

in increased stress (de Burgh et al. 198).

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The study by de Burgh et al. also discusses the negative effect deployment has

on marital satisfaction (195). De Burgh et al. explains that men who return from

deployment with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) are more at risk for poor

marital health (195). De Burgh cites a study by Goff et al. explaining that trauma

symptoms such as “...dissociation, anxiety, sexual and sleep problems in military

personnel are significantly associated with reduced spouse-reported relationship

satisfaction.” (qtd. In de Burgh et al. 195). The findings from both studies show that

deployment causes stress not only during the absence of the deployed spouse, but

even when the spouse has returned there can still be stress in the relationship resulting

from factors such as PTSD. This also supports the Sullivan study, which explained that

marital discord and stress were a common stressor for military spouses.

In a study written by M.K Higgins Neyland, PhD et al. The data from 126 military

adolescents was analyzed during a prevention trial for obesity and binge-eating disorder

(201).
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Figure 2: This visual shows the relationship between weight, number of deployments,

and parental distress (Neyland et al. 206).

Neyland et al. found that there wasn’t much of an effect from deployment on the

weight of these adolescents, but they did find that both high levels of parental stress

and more frequent deployments do have an association with weight concerns among

adolescents (205). Deployments alone aren’t the cause of eating disorders; it is the

combination of both parental stress and deployment. This corresponds well with the de

Burgh study; the stress of the spouse left behind during deployment increases (Neyland

et al. 198). This stress maybe further affects the military adolescents as they notice it in

their parents, and it is added to their own potential stress from the deployment. This

supports the idea that deployment increases stress for dependents.

In the 2018 study written by Catherine Walker O’Neal et al., factors such as

frequent communication and effective household management during the deployment of

a parent or spouse effects the process of reintegration and family functioning (3250).

214 military families’ data were analyzed (O’Neal et al. 3250) by having them take a

survey asking questions such as the frequency of communication during their last

deployment, how children had been disciplined, financial matters getting taken care of,

and getting household tasks done (O’Neal et al. 3253). Family members were also

asked various questions about their relationships with the family (O’Neal et al. 3253).
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The study found that experiencing frequent communication related to a good

reintegration experience afterwards, it was also found that maintaining good household

management helped with a more positive experience as well (O’Neal 3257). When my

aunt was a baby, her dad had to deploy for three months. Their family was not able to

maintain frequent communication with my grandpa, as he was deployed before things

like facetime or skype were widespread. When he returned, my aunt wouldn’t even look

at him, much less let him hold her, for at least three days. This supports the idea that

less frequent communication has a negative impact on the reintegration process. In

addition, maintaining good household management includes paying bills, getting

cleaning done, making necessary appointments, getting kids to various sports and other

activities. These are things that before deployment there were two parents to help with

these simple tasks, and now these tasks are much harder as there is only one parent to

take care of them now. This supports the de Burgh study, which found that stress

increases in the non-military spouse left behind.

A 2009 study, written by academic Susan L. Ray and scientist Meredith

Vanstone, explored the effects PTSD has on immediate family members. Ten Canadian

peacekeepers who were at least two years into their PTSD recovery were interviewed

about their experiences with peacekeeping, healing, and how PTSD affected their

relationships with their family (Ray and Vanstone 840-841). They found that common

traits in the participants were emotional numbing and anger, which are associated with

woman or wife abuse (844).

Ray and Vanstone cite a study by Riggs et al, which found that nine partners of

Israeli veterans explained that they had feelings of tension, anxiety, depression, low
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self-esteem, etc. as a result of PTSD in their partner (844). Both Riggs et al. and the

Ray and Vanstone study show that PTSD creates stress in their spouse, along with

other mental health issues.

Causes of PTSD are found during deployments, typically in combat and other

violent or traumatizing situations. Deployments cause stress in the family as a member

is absent, but the stress of deployment can be extended even after the member returns

because of PTSD.

In addition to deployment, an important aspect in the military is frequent

relocation. In a 2005 study by Eve Graham Weber PhD MS(ed) focusing on military

relocations and the effects on teen behavior, a survey was given to 179 military parents

of teenagers to fill out concerning past behavior of the adolescents (638). Among a

group of teens that had moved 4.89 times on average, the study found that an increase

in relocation frequency came with better behavior in the adolescents (Weber 638).

During an interview with a friend whose dad is active duty in the Air Force, I

asked him about his experiences with relocation and his response supports the Weber

study. He explained that it is difficult to make friends and rebuild his social life in a new

place, but he also expressed how he’s now more used to change and that has helped

him to be strong and accept the harder things in life (Bennet). Although relocations can

be a cause of stress in adolescents, they also provide an opportunity to grow stronger

and more resilient in the face of future challenges.

To conclude, there are many ways the mental health of spouses and children of

military personnel is affected by experiences in the military. Deployments can cause

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stress in dependents both during and after, and additional stressors can create even

more stress in the family sector. PTSD can also cause stress between spouses and the

military member suffering from it. Relocation can be a source of stress for children and

adolescents, but it can also prove to be a positive resilience-building experience.

Works Cited

Bennet, James. Personal telephone interview. 22 March 2022

de Burgh, H.Thomas, et al. “The Impact of Deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan on

Partners and Wives of Military Personnel.” International Review of Psychiatry,

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vol. 23, no. 2, Apr. 2011, pp. 192–200. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2011.560144.

Higgins Neyland, M. K., et al. “Parental Deployment and Distress, and Adolescent

Disordered Eating in Prevention‐seeking Military Dependents.” International

Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 53, no. 2, Feb. 2020, pp. 201–09. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23180.

Morrill, Dana. Personal interview. 6 April 2022

O, Neal, Catherine Walker, et al. “Vulnerability and Resilience within Military Families:

Deployment Experiences, Reintegration, and Family Functioning.” Journal of

Child & Family Studies, vol. 27, no. 10, Oct. 2018, pp. 3250–61. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1149-6.

Ray, Susan L., and Meredith Vanstone. “The Impact of PTSD on Veterans’ Family

Relationships: An Interpretative Phenomenological Inquiry.” International Journal

of Nursing Studies, vol. 46, no. 6, June 2009, pp. 838–47. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.01.002.

St. John, Lexi V., and Pamela Fenning. “Supporting the Behavioral and Mental Health

Needs of Military Children.” Preventing School Failure, vol. 64, no. 2, Apr. 2020,

pp. 99–105. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2019.1680945.

Sullivan, Kathrine S., et al. “Military and Nonmilitary Stressors Associated with Mental

Health Outcomes among Female Military Spouses.” Family Relations, vol. 71,

no. 1, Feb. 2022, pp. 371–88. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12589.

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Vannest, Kimberly J., et al. “Military-Connected Adolescents’ Emotional and Behavioral

Risk Status: Comparisons of Universal Screening Data and National Norms.”

Journal of Child & Family Studies, vol. 30, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 134–45.

EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01887-y.

Weber, Eve Graham, and David Kevin Weber. “Geographic Relocation Frequency,

Resilience, and Military Adolescent Behavior.” Military Medicine, vol. 170, no. 7,

July 2005, pp. 638–42. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED.170.7.638.