Rainelle Riggins

Dr. Cassel

English 1201

25 October 2018

Annotated Bibliography

My topic is on how military children are affected psychologically. How has moving every two to

three affected them? What does having to adapt to a new environment and people do to them

mentally and physically? People think seeing new places would be a fun experience, but having

to uproot your life and start over can physically and mentally drain someone, especially a child.

Barron, Patty. "Military Children Are Resilient but Still Face Challenges." Military Families,

edited by Sylvia Engdahl, Greenhaven Press, 2014. Current Controversies. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010905223/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid

=774b1ecb. Accessed 18 Oct. 2018. Originally published in AUSA News, Apr. 2012.

According to the Department of Defense 2009 Demographics Report, about 2 million children

have parents that are either active duty or in the reserves. Over 42 percent of the children are

below the age of five. Studies have shown that military children have been affected mentally by

stress and separation from their parents. Studies have also showed that the longer a parent is

gone, there is a higher chance the child will have emotional and behavioral problems. If the

parents have good communication with the child, there is a better chance they were able to

handle the stress better. The majority of military families are handling military lifestyle well.
Collins, Elizabeth M. “Experts Explain Mental State of Military Children.” Www.army.mil,

Soldiers Magazine, 1 May 2015,

www.army.mil/article/147786/experts_explain_mental_state_of_military_children.

Military children are strong, resilient, adaptable, have good healthcare, schooling, and a steady

income from their parents. It is easy to handle a deployment or two, but when it comes to back-

to-back deployment, there can be a problem. When it comes to military kids they tend to have

more anxiety. 30bpercent of children have trouble because of deployment. There can be higher

depression and anxiety, lower grades. Some teens may result to drugs, alcohol, and gangs. There

are also higher levels of suicide. There are different warning sign depending on their age.

Younger kids may throw tantrums or not want to play with their toys. Having a routine can help

the kids get through deployments, and getting involved in school activities can benefit the kids.

Glenza, Jessica. “Military Children Display Higher Rates of Substance Abuse and Violence –

Study.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Aug. 2015,

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/17/military-children-substance-abuse-violence-

bullying-victims-study.

According to a new study made by the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics,

children of active duty parents have a higher chance of being violent, substance abuse, and being

bullied. In almost every school district in California about 54,000 were connected/ in a military

family. Through a survey conducted on children connected to the military and comparing them

to children who were not connected to the military. 45% of military connected kids used alcohol

in their life vs the 39% of the non military connected. 9% more military kids got bullied. 10% of

military kids brought a weapon to school, while less than 5% of non connected brought a weapon

to school.
Lester, Patricia, et al. “Psychological Health of Military Children: Longitudinal Evaluation of a

Family-Centered Prevention Program to Enhance Family Resilience.” Military Medicine, vol.

178, no. 8, Aug. 2013, pp. 838–845. EBSCOhost, doi:10.7205/MILMED-D-12-00502.

Research shows that wartime deployments puts stress on the family. To help with a child’s

resilience parents need to mentally healthy and have a good relationship with their child. U.S.

Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery worked with Harvard and UCLA to come up with

Families OverComing Under Stress Family Resiliency Training also known as the FOCUS

project. In the research they found that a military child is more distressed than regular kids.

Mansfield, Alyssa J. “Deployment and Mental Health Diagnoses Among Children of US Army

Personnel.” JAMA, American Medical Association, 1 Nov. 2011,

jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/1107630.

6,579 children with parents that deployed were diagnosed with mental health issues in a 4 year

time period. The longer the parent was deployed the more problems the child had. Stress,

depression, and behavior problems, anxiety, and sleeping issues were seen in children, and

continued to increase the longer the parent was gone. Boys and girls seemed to act the same way

in the situation, but there were more diagnoses on the older kids.

“Mental health diagnoses rise significantly for military children." Mental Health Weekly Digest,

16 May 2016, p. 72. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A452434209/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=

8cae1179. Accessed 18 Oct. 2018.

From 2001 to 201 1.6 million children got help from the Military Health System. There has been

a 4% increase every single year. Researchers have said that children have been diagnosed for
suicidal ideation, adjustment, anxiety, attention deficit, conduct, cognitive, mood, psychotic,

eating and other disorders, and they have all increased. Suicide is now 22% higher than what it

was. The number of kids coming for mental health has doubled in the past 15 years.