The RAND Corporation’s study researching the impact of military deployments on children ages 11 to 17 and their parents provided scientific confirmation of many anecdotal reports. The study, comissioned by The National Military Family Association, surveyed 1,507 parent and child sets (3,014 participants in all).

The results, consistent across all branches of service indicate:

- As the months of parental deployment increased so did the child’s challenges. The total number of months away mattered more than the number of deployments

- Older children experienced more difficulties during deployment

- There is a direct correlation between the mental health of the caregiver and the well-being of the child

- Girls experienced more difficulty during reintegration, the period of months readjusting after the service member’s homecoming

- About one-third of the children reported symptoms of anxiety, which is somewhat higher than the percentage reported in other studies of children

According to National Military Family Association Executive Director Joyce Raezer, these findings back up what parents have already reported about the impacts of parental deployments on children. The study found no significant differences among children based on the Service branch of the parent or whether they were a part of the active or reserve component of the military. Ninety-five percent of children had experienced at least one parental deployment in the three years prior to the study, and nearly 40 percent were going through a deployment at the time of the interview.

Now that research-based information is available, the National Military Family Association is calling on all organizations — including the Department of Defense — to use these findings to assess their current offerings. The immediate and long-term research implications will be announced in May 2010.

Follow this link for the full story at The National Military Family Association web site.