Military Deployment and its Consequences for Families (Risk and Resilience in Military and Veteran Families)

War-related separations challenge families in many ways. The worry and uncertainty associated with combat deployments provokes anxiety in family members left at home. Lengthy separations may challenge the personal, social, and economic coping resources of families at home. In this war, thanks to medical advances, many service members who previously would have died of their injuries are returning home to live long, although altered lives. As a result, families are facing the additional challenge of assisting service members who have experienced amputation, traumatic brain injury, and psychological wounds. These challenges are faced not only by service members in the active component of the armed forces, but also by service members in the National Guard and Reserves. In response, the Department of Defense has launched unprecedented efforts to support service members and families before, during and after deployment in all locations of the country as well as in remote locations. These support efforts are focused not only on medical care, but also mental health care and logistical support. Research about families and war tends to move forward in fits and starts associated with major conflicts, and there is currently an increasing flow of family research moving into the scientific domain. Military Families and the Aftermath of Deployment focuses heavily on the aftermath of deployment for families. It is the first compilation of such chapters released in relation to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and includes contributions from leading researchers from diverse disciplines and arenas, including universities, the Veterans Administration, and the Department of Defense, as well as international researchers from Canada, and Croatia, among others. This work will be of use to graduate students and researchers in family studies, social work, counseling, military science, psychology and sociology. Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Research and Training About Military Families: Where Are We?....Pages 1-17 Front Matter....Pages 19-19 Bridging the Distance: Illustrations of Real-Time Communication of Support Between Partners and Deployed Members of the National Guard....Pages 21-35 Relational Turbulence Within Military Couples During Reintegration Following Deployment....Pages 37-59 Feasibility of Telephone Support Groups for Spouses of Returning Iraq and Afghanistan Service Members....Pages 61-78 Evolution of a Research Agenda for Military Families....Pages 79-84 Front Matter....Pages 85-85 General and Specialist Health Care Utilization in Military Children of Army Service Members Who Are Deployed....Pages 87-110 Parenting Practices and Emotion Regulation in National Guard and Reserve Families: Early Findings from the After Deployment Adaptive Parenting Tools/ADAPT Study....Pages 111-131 Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Military Families: Visible But Legally Marginalized....Pages 133-147 Front Matter....Pages 149-149 Pre-deployment Well-Being Among Single and Partnered National Guard Soldiers: The Role of Their Parents, Social Support, and Stressors....Pages 151-172 Towards a Better Understanding of Post-Deployment Reintegration....Pages 173-191 Young Veterans and the Transition to Civilian Employment: Does Marital Status Matter?....Pages 193-218 Recent Developments in the Uneasy Tension Between Family and Career: Competency-Related Perceptions of Women and Mothers....Pages 219-237 Front Matter....Pages 239-239 The Effects of Wounds of War on Family Functioning in a National Guard Sample: An Exploratory Study....Pages 241-257 Resources and Coping Strategies Among Caregivers of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Veterans with Polytrauma and Traumatic Brain Injury....Pages 259-280 Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Families....Pages 281-292 Community-Based Support and Unmet Needs Among Families of Persons with Brain Injuries: A Mixed Methods Study with the Brain Injury Association of America State Affiliates....Pages 293-313 Back Matter....Pages 315-336 We are only beginning to comprehend the extent of the challenges faced by men and women serving in the military--a vast web of difficulties that include those left behind for families when service members leave for combat, and the ones that loom over families when they return. The contributors to Military Deployment and its Consequences for Families understand in depth the complexities of military life, and how individual sacrifices translate into stressors for partners and children. Focusing on key areas such as relationship and parenting issues and the effects of wounds and injuries, chapters span the diversity of active duty, veteran, National Guard, and Reserve families, including LGB families and divorced and single service members. These findings on challenges, resources, and coping strategies give readers expert guidance in providing services for military families and helping shape the agenda for further research. Among the topics covered: Relational tension in couples during reintegration following deployment. Parenting practices and emotion regulation in National Guard and Reserve families. Tension between family and career: competency-based perceptions of women and mothers. Towards an improved understanding of post-deployment reintegration. Combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder and families. Community support and unmet needs among families of persons with TBI. Military Deployment and its Consequences for Families focuses on military mental health and well-being, and deserves the attention of researchers and practitioners working in this important field Collection of essays explore the complexities of military life, and how individual sacrifices translate into stressors for partners and children