Deployment and Single Parenting: A snapshot into the Experience of Navy Moms

By Rachel Dorman, M.S. & Kacy Mixon, PhD, LMFT

The deployment of a parent is a difficult process for any family to go through and research shows it can be particularly hard on single parent families. Kelley, Doane, and Pearson (2011), sought to learn more about Navy mothers experiences [1]. They examined whether the deployment process impacts military children differently depending on whether they are being raised by a single or married mother.  Surveys about children’s internalizing (e.g. sadness, worrying) and externalizing (e.g. aggression, noncompliance) behaviors that both mothers and child caregivers (i.e. babysitters, child care centers, and relatives) filled out were analyzed by the researchers.

Their analysis revealed that non-married mothers’ psychological adjustment significantly influence their children’s internalized and externalized behaviors at pre-deployment and at post deployment. Thus, children with single mothers who demonstrated poor psychological adjustment before being deployed had higher rates of internalized and externalized behavior at pre-deployment and post deployment. These same results were not found with married mothers. However, researchers did find that for married and non-married mothers the duration of time in the Navy predicted mothers’ psychological adjustment at pre-deployment. In fact, the more time married and non-married mothers spent in the Navy the better their psychological adjustment. The researchers concluded that there is a need for future research to focus on understanding the needs of non-traditional family forms within the military including the clinical needs of children. They also stress the need for further research exploring how children may be affected by a parent’s combat-related stress and injuries.

Reference:

[1] Kelley, M., Doane, A., Pearson, M. (2011). Single military mothers in the new millennium: Stresses, supports, and effects of deployment. In Wadsworth, S., & Riggs, D. (Eds.), Risk and Resilience in U.S. Military Families (343-363). New York, NY: Springer.

 

This post was written by Rachel Dorman, M.S. and Kacy Mixon, PhD, LMFT. Both are members of the MFLN Family Development (FD) team which aims to support the development of professionals working with military families. Find out more about the Military Families Learning Network FD concentration on our website, on Facebook, on Twitter, YouTube, and on LinkedIn.