BC Council for Families

Between Iraq and Afghanistan, millions of families in Canada and the US are quietly being impacted by the absence of a parent or spouse working in a life-threatening field abroad. “Children on the Homefront: The Experience of Children from Military Families” reports how children are doing socially, emotionally and academically in their everyday lives while a parent is deployed.

In the study from RAND Corporation, findings suggested that the longer a parent was deployed, the more likely a child was to experience problems. Older youth with a parent in active military service had more problems with school and fighting. Younger children suffered more from anxiety. Girls particularly found it harder to reconnect with the parent upon return, yet coped better than boys with maintaining school and friendships.

While it may seem intuitive that children are emotionally and behaviorally affected when a parent is deployed, study author Anita Chandra reflects, “our study begins to shed more light on the nature of the problem. Much more work is needed to better understand these challenges and to improve ways to support children throughout the deployment cycle." The study also suggests that more support is needed for the spouse left at home as their levels of emotional well being directly relate to those of their children.

1500 children of military families were involved in the RAND study.

Check out these online resources for military families: Navigator, LFWA Deployment Support Group