Peer-reviewed article
MIlitary Life Demands: Marital Quality, Distant Parenting, and Child Well-Being Among Deployed Service Members
Donabelle C. Hess ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how military combat deployments affect children and families, using data from 1,616 U.S. military families. The research found that marital quality, communication between deployed parents and children, and the well-being of at-home caregivers all influence how children adjust. Military family income and the at-home parent's stress levels were particularly important predictors of children's emotional and behavioral outcomes. The frequency and quality of communication between deployed service members and their families emerged as a key factor in managing both marriages and parenting from a distance.
Key points
- Work-life balance and communication frequency were notable factors in how spouses perceived marital quality during deployment
- Communication frequency and importance predicted how at-home caregivers managed childcare-related issues
- Military socioeconomic status significantly predicted both child adjustment problems and child well-being
- At-home spouse well-being variables (work-life balance and stress) had the strongest predictive power for child sociobehavioral outcomes
- Combat deployment had only marginal direct effects on child adjustment problems
Limitations
This study is observational and based on survey data from 2006, so it cannot establish causation or account for confounding factors. The research relies on reports from at-home spouses only, not from deployed parents or children themselves, which may limit the completeness of the picture.
Abstract
Since the dawn of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), combat deployments have become longer and more frequent. The adjustments that go along with such deployments are a source of stress, not only for service members, but also for children and spouses. In spite of the need to better understand the effects of deployment on military children and families – and to provide suitable and appropriate support for them – rigorous research is limited. This study utilized data from the 2006 Active-Duty Spouse Survey (ADSS), a survey of 1,616 parents married to members of the U.S. Armed Forces with dependents 18 years of age or under. This research examined the effects of combat deployment on marital quality, the process of distant parenting, and child sociobehavioral outcomes. The results revealed that the ability to balance work and family life, and frequency of communication and its importance, were notable factors with how spouses perceived the quality of their marriages. In addition, frequency of communication as well as the importance of communication, as processes by which deployed uniformed family members parent from a distance, was significantly correlated with how at-home caregivers manage childcare-related issues. Furthermore, military socioeconomic status was found to be a significant predictor of not only child adjustment problems but also child well-being. Despite the marginal effects of combat deployment on child adjustment problems, the most significant finding of this study was the predictive power of at-home spouse well-being variables – work/life balance and overall stress on marital quality, childcare management and child sociobehavioral outcomes.