Psychological Effects of Parental Wartime Deployment on Young Children

Children ages 3 to 5 years whose parents were deployed had worse behavior scores than those who did not.

A recent study documented an increase in child maltreatment when a parent is deployed for combat duty (JW Pediatr Adolesc Med Sep 12 2007). However, limited data are available on the behavioral effects of wartime deployment of military parents on their young children. In a cross-sectional study of military families with children (age range, 1.5–5 years) who attended child-care centers on a large U.S. Marine base, 55 children who each had a deployed parent were compared with 114 children who did not. The standardized Child Behavior Checklist was completed by the primary caregiver parent and child-care provider. Parental stress level and depression symptoms also were assessed by two questionnaires.

In analyses that controlled for parental age,…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics