Literature Review for HDFS 2300: Science of Studying Human Development

1. Running head: EFFECT MILITARY HAS ON FAMILIES 1
What are the impacts the military has on family development?
Kaylie Harding
HDFS 2300 Science of Studying Human Development
Jennifer George
December 6, 2019

2. EFFECTS MILITARY HAS ON FAMILIES 2
What are the Effects the Military Has on Family Development?
Introduction
The topic of this study is finding out the family stressors that come along with having a
member of your family in the military. I would like to find out more information on this topic
because several families face these difficulties daily. I would like to know more because my
brother is in the military and I have seen the effects it has had on his family directly. This
research allowed me to discover how each family is affected individually by this profession. My
study will consider both the positive and negative effects as well as support groups and helpful
strategies that help these families. The final question I am seeking to answer is what are the
effects the military has on family development?
Sources Used
The main data will be based on 4 scholarly articles that I found from google scholar.
Additional data comes from 6 other scholarly articles but involves tables and other studies. The
research will be conducted first by grouping all the negative effects that the military has on
families and then grouping all the positives. After I do the effects, I will discuss resources that
families use to make life easier as well as some of the mental illnesses that these families may
develop.
Negative Effects
The common themes that seem to negatively impact families include behavior problems
in children, mental illness in the military member, and domestic abuse. The first negative effect
involves behavior problems that will likely occur within children aged one to five during
deployment. These behavior problems appear in both boys and girls. The boys experience
attitude and control problems while girls have trouble with unhappiness and sorrow. An article

3. EFFECTS MILITARY HAS ON FAMILIES 3
showed that “parents with children aged three years or older and a deployed spouse had
significantly higher depression scores than those without a deployed spouse” (Chartrand, Frank,
White, & Shope, 2008). Many children have a hard time finding motivation for school likely
because they feel left out which leads to them having a higher dropout rate than regular
students (Lowe et al., 2012). The second negative effect involves the military member
experiencing a mental illness. Being diagnosed with a mental illness can be both disheartening
for the person as well as the family. The symptoms that come along with certain mental illnesses
can also cause explosive and violent behavior (Palmer, 2008). The mental illness in the military
member can even cause mental illness in the child. This is connected to higher depression in
children because if one perceives they have a mental illness they also are more likely to become
depressed. Physical and emotional abuse can come from mental illnesses in the deployed.
Resulting in abuse being higher during times of deployment. One article suggested that previous
research investigated certain effects of military deployment involving child maltreatment,
academic performance, as well as mental health and behavior (Sheppard et al., 2010). The last
negative effect that needs to be discussed is instability in the family. Many families have to
experience the wait before deployment as well as the return from deployment which often leads
to stress and instability. Deployment is overall a big issue because knowing that one can be
deployed at any time can bring certain stress and anxiety that will affect the whole family
dynamic. With deployment brings along constant relocation for families causing instability.
When families constantly have to move from deployment stations they have to try and find new
jobs and new friends. Also being separated for prolonged periods from a family member in the
military can be very hard for every child. One article backs this up by describing how children
that are younger expressing stress involving the separation by having difficulty with daily

4. EFFECTS MILITARY HAS ON FAMILIES 4
routines, bad behavior, and emotional withdrawal (Lester & Flake, 2013). Researchers have also
seen a big increase in divorce rates, this could be directly correlated to the family’s instability
(Cozza, 2014). Also, with divorce comes custody and sometimes the military member will lose
custody of their child due to prolonged periods of deployment (Riggs & Cusimano, 2014). This
in turn also can be seen as the reason children have a difficult time adjusting to life.
Positive Effects
My second theme that I would like to discuss is the positive effects that come along
with a member in the military. The common positive themes seen in military themes involve
relocation benefits and social support. Although relocation was seen as a negative effect it
can also positively affect families. A research article mentioned that "some children use a
move as an opportunity to change their behavior" (Drummet, Coleman, & Cable, 2004). This
can impact a child significantly. If a child had behavioral problems before they moved and
was slacking on their grades, a move could give them a chance for a fresh start. The move
could allow them to make new friends and find new interests. Particularly it can allow for a
child to improve their academic standing. Another positive effect involves the social support
groups that come along with relocation. The support groups specifically relate to church
groups, new work members, as well as new friends. These support groups have shown drastic
improvements to families that are dealing with adjustments involving moving and separation
in general (Drummet et al., 2004). All the help from the community and the other soldiers
allows better contentment involving their newfound jobs and overall life satisfaction when
having to deal with a deployment (DeGraff et al., 2016). During deployment, one can feel
lonely and overwhelmed with the situation, so it can be helpful to find friends that also have
a family member in the military. Although deployment is normally viewed in the worse way

5. EFFECTS MILITARY HAS ON FAMILIES 5
it also has some benefits. Another benefit that deployment involves is how helpful the
military is when it comes to soldiers are needing to find a place to live, whether that be on or
off base.
Post Deployment
My last theme involves emotions related to family members returning from
deployment. Post-deployment is when a soldier returns home from deployment. This period
tends to last for a few months but can quickly turn over to another deployment. This can be
hard for families because they “often face the tasks of renegotiating roles and areas of
responsibility and establishing new routines” (Sheppard et al., 2010). Families tend to go
through a tough time with this transition, they go from not seeing their family member to
seeing them a lot more often and this often can be beneficial, but also be hard. It is different
new which can lead to disruption in the family system. Whether it be a father returning or a
mother, it can be hard and some struggle with coming back after missing important
milestones as well as feeling like they do not fit in with the family anymore. This also goes
along with the mental illness aspect that was discussed earlier. Families that are expecting
the return of their family member may experience life-altering challenges. In the instance
that a family member comes home with post-traumatic stress disorder, the family will have to
find new ways to cope with the changes that could occur. Another factor that could happen in
post-deployment is death. The family member may or may not return from deployment
causing the family to have to start the grieving process as well as plan funeral arrangements.
It is common for these military members to make changes to their will before heading out for
deployment which can be stressful and eye-opening. After the soldier returns families also
stress about when the next redeployment will be and that can often cause strain on the family

6. EFFECTS MILITARY HAS ON FAMILIES 6
relationships. This can impact the members of the family because they have the fear that the
family member could leave at any time and the relationships that they rebuilt could quickly
deteriorate again.
Conclusion
Overall families that have to deal with a family member in the military encounter
altering life changes. The effects the military has on a family can be positive but is mostly
seen as negative. Children encounter trouble with school, finding their role in the family and
make connections with the people around them. Spouses also can feel as if they are a single
parent because the military member is missing a lot of the time. The single parent
experiences higher separation anxiety, and less family structuring than two parent households
(Kelly et al., 1994). The parent has to make decisions for the family on their own and have to
be the strong piece holding the family together. In conclusion, we must have people that
make these sacrifices to protect our country, but society needs to know these effects to find
ways for the family to lessen the effects on military families.

7. EFFECTS MILITARY HAS ON FAMILIES 7
References
Chartrand, M. M., Frank, D. A., White L. F., & Shope, T. R. (2008). Effect of parents' wartime
deployment on the behavior of young children in military families. Arch Pediatr Adolesc
Med., 162(11), 1009-1014. doi:10.1001/archpedi.162.11.1009
Cozza, Stephen J. (2014). Supporting America's Military Children and Families, Applied
Developmental Science, 18:1, 1-4, DOI: 10.1080/10888691.2014.866399
DeGraff, A.N., O’Neal, C.W. & Mancini, J.A. (2016). The significance of military contexts
and culture for understanding family well-being: Parent life satisfaction and adolescent
outcomes. Journal of Child and Family Service, 25(10), 3022–3033. https://doi-
org.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/10.1007/s10826-016-0471-0
Drummet, A. R., Coleman, M., & Cable, S. (2004). Military Families Under Stress: Implications
for Family Life Education*. Family Relations. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2003.00279.x
Kelly, M. L., Herzog-Simmer P. A., & Harris M. A. (1994) Effects of Military-Induced
Separation on the Parenting Stress and Family Functioning of Deploying
Mothers, Military Psychology, 6:2, 125-138, DOI: 10.1207/s15327876mp0602_4
Lester, P., & Flake, E. (2013). How Wartime Military Service Affects Children and
Families. The Future of Children, 23(2), 121-141. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/stable/23595623
Lowe, K. N., Adams, K. S., Browne, B. L., & Hinkle, K. T. (2012). Impact of military
deployment on family relationships. Journal of Family Studies, 18(1), 17-27.
https://doi-org.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/10.5172/js.2012.2003

8. EFFECTS MILITARY HAS ON FAMILIES 8
Palmer, Cale. (2008). A Theory of Risk and Resilience Factors in Military Families. Military
Psychology, 20 (3). doi:10.1080/08995600802118858
Riggs, S. A., & Cusimano, A. (2014). The dynamics of military development in the family
system: What makes a parent fit for duty? Family Court Review, 52(3), 381-399.
https://doi-org.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/10.1111/fcre.12099
Sheppard, S. C., Malatras, J. W., & Israel, A. C. (2010). The impact of deployment on U.S.
military families. American Psychologist, 65(6), 599-609.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0020332