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AbstractAlthough multiple evidence‐based family interventions exist, less than a handful have been developed or rigorously tested specifically for military families. Indeed, few interventions available to military families are theory based or empirically validated; most have good face validity but little data on efficacy or effectiveness. This article argues for an emphasis on the rigorous evaluation, via pragmatic randomized controlled trials, of theory‐based family interventions to strengthen and support military families. Data are provided from a theory‐based, empirically validated parenting program for families (After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools, or ADAPT) to demonstrate the potential for randomized controlled trials to yield rich data about family functioning beyond program outcomes. Opportunities to generate theoretically informed, evidence‐based family interventions for military families will contribute not only to testing theories about military families but also to advancing well‐being for the next generation of service members and their families.

Although multiple evidence-based family interventions exist, less than a handful have been developed or rigorously tested specifically for military families. Indeed, few interventions available to military families are theory based or empirically validated; most have good face validity but little data on efficacy or effectiveness. This article argues for an emphasis on the rigorous evaluation, via pragmatic randomized controlled trials, of theory-based family interventions to strengthen and support military families. Data are provided from a theory-based, empirically validated parenting program for families (After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools, or ADAPT) to demonstrate the potential for randomized controlled trials to yield rich data about family functioning beyond program outcomes. Opportunities to generate theoretically informed, evidence-based family interventions for military families will contribute not only to testing theories about military families but also to advancing well-being for the next generation of service members and their families.

This reference examines the wide-ranging impact of military life on families, parenting, and child development. It examines the complex family needs of this diverse population, especially as familiar issues such as trauma, domestic violence, and child abuse manifest differently than in civilian life. Expert contributors review findings on deployed mothers, active-duty fathers, and other military parents while offering evidence for interventions and prevention programs to enhance children's healthy adjustment in this highly structured yet uncertain context. Its emphasis on resource and policy improvements keeps the book focused on the evolution of military families in the face of future change and challenges. Included in the coverage: Impacts of military life on young children and their parents. Parenting school-age children and adolescents through military deployments. Parenting in military families faced with combat-related injury, illness, or death. The special case of civilian service members: supporting parents in the National Guard and Reserves. Interventions to support and strengthen parenting in military families: state of the evidence. Military parenting in the digital age: existing practices, new possibilities. Addressing a major need in family and parenting studies, Parenting and Children's Resilience in Military Families is necessary reading for scholars and practitioners interested in parenting and military family research.

We tested a recovery capital model for military families employing the After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT) randomized control trial, a longitudinal preventive intervention study of 336 post-deployed military parents. Recovery resources included measures of social capital (parenting support, observed partner support behaviors), personal capital (parenting efficacy, education), and community capital (the ADAPT behavioral parent-training intervention). We hypothesized higher levels of recovery capital would buffer the negative impact of military stress on growth in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms for deployed and civilian parents. Outcome data were evaluated with three waves across 2-years. Hypotheses were tested with latent growth models in a structural equation modeling framework. Military stress was assessed by reports of exposure to combat and battle aftermath. Recovery capital was measured by reported support for parenting and direct observation of behavioral interactions during problem-solving discussions of deployment-related stressors. Fathers had higher levels of military-related stress and PTSD symptoms over time compared to mothers. Growth curve models showed that fathers were characterized by individual differences in 2-year average levels of PTSD symptoms while mothers were characterized by individual differences in initial status and linear growth trajectories. Results supported a recovery capital model. Higher levels of parenting efficacy and parenting support were associated with lower PTSD symptoms, representing common pathways for both mothers and fathers. Similarly, parenting support operated as a moderating buffer for both parents. That is, effects of military trauma exposure on psychological distress were lower for mothers and fathers with higher levels of parenting support relative to parents with lower levels. Regions of significance indicated that half a standard deviation above the mean of support was beneficial for mothers, while one and half standard ...

Parental deployment to war poses risks to children's healthy adjustment. The After Deployment Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT) program was developed for post-deployed military families to promote children's well-being through improving effective parenting. ADAPT combines behavior management with emotion socialization skills for parents, using brief mindfulness practices to strengthen emotion regulation. We used a three-wave longitudinal, experimental design to examine whether ADAPT improved parental trait mindfulness (PTM), and whether the effect was moderated by baseline PTM. We also investigated whether improved PTM was associated with behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects of parenting such as self-reported parental locus of control (PLOC), self-reported parental emotion socialization (PES), self-reported and observed behavioral parenting skills. We analyzed data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the ADAPT, with a focus on mothers (n = 313) who were either deployed (17.9%) or non-deployed and partnered with a husband who had been recently deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan and returned (82.1%). Families identified a 4–13-year-old target child (Mean age = 8.34, SD = 2.48; 54.3% girls) and were randomized into ADAPT (a group-based 14-week program) or a control condition (services as usual). At baseline, 1-year, and 2-year follow-up, PTM, PLOC, PES, and parenting skills were self-reported, whereas home-based family interactions involving parents and the child were video-taped and assessed for observed behavioral parenting skills such as discipline and problem-solving using a theory-based coding system. Results showed that mothers with lower baseline PTM reported higher PTM at 1-year while mothers with higher baseline PTM reported lower PTM at 1-year. PTM at 1-year was associated with improved self-reported parenting skills and supportive PES at 2-year, as well as indirectly associated with improved PLOC and reduced nonsupportive PES at 2-year through PTM at 2-year. No associations between PTM ...

ObjectiveTo explore dyadic associations between mindfulness and marital quality and gender differences in these associations—that is, the relation of each dyad member's mindfulness with his or her own marital quality and with his or her partner's marital quality.BackgroundRecent studies have demonstrated the benefits of mindfulness for marital quality. However, associations of mindfulness and marital quality within and between partners are still unclear. In addition, despite marital challenges associated with deployment to war, the benefits of mindfulness for marital quality in military couples is unknown.MethodA sample of 228 military couples after deployment of the male partner to recent conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan completed an online survey measuring mindfulness and marital quality.ResultsActor–partner interdependence analysis showed that for both men and women, greater mindfulness was associated with one's own and one's partner's higher marital quality. There were no gender differences in this pattern.ConclusionMindfulness engenders intra‐ and interpersonal benefits for the marital system in men and in women after deployment to war.ImplicationsThe results emphasize the importance of a dyadic approach when examining the role of mindfulness in marital or family relations, and suggest that interventions designed to facilitate change in marital relationships in the context of deployment may benefit from integrating mindfulness‐based training.

OBJECTIVE: To explore dyadic associations between mindfulness and marital quality and gender differences in these associations—that is, the relation of each dyad member's mindfulness with his or her own marital quality and with his or her partner's marital quality. BACKGROUND: Recent studies have demonstrated the benefits of mindfulness for marital quality. However, associations of mindfulness and marital quality within and between partners are still unclear. In addition, despite marital challenges associated with deployment to war, the benefits of mindfulness for marital quality in military couples is yet unknown. METHOD: A sample of 228 military couples following deployment of the male partner to recent conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan completed an online survey measuring mindfulness and marital quality. RESULTS: Actor–partner interdependence (APIM) analysis showed that, for both men and women, greater mindfulness was associated with one's own and one's partner's higher marital quality. There were no gender differences in this pattern. CONCLUSION: Mindfulness engenders intra- and interpersonal benefits for the marital system in men and in women following deployment to war. IMPLICATIONS: The results emphasize the importance of a dyadic approach when examining the role of mindfulness in marital or family relations, and suggest that interventions designed to facilitate change in marital relationships in the context of deployment may benefit from integrating mindfulness-based training.

AbstractPost‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among service members portends substantial impairments not only for the affected individual but also for their families. However, the association between PTSD symptoms and specific parenting domains remains understudied. Drawing upon the Military Family Stress Model and the Cognitive Behavioral Interpersonal Theory of PTSD, this systematic review provides an overview and synthesis of the literature on PTSD symptoms and parenting in military families with the objective to examine associations between parental PTSD symptoms and key parenting domains. Following PRISMA guidelines, 27 empirical studies were reviewed. Five distinct parenting domains emerged across studies. The findings indicated that greater PTSD symptoms were generally associated with adverse parenting outcomes with some variation across different parenting domains, such that some parenting outcomes showed more consistent negative associations with parental PTSD symptoms than others. These results have significant implications for research and practice, providing insight for family‐focused intervention/prevention studies.

Despite significant stressors facing military families over the past 15 years of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, no parenting programs adapted or developed for military families have been rigorously tested. We present outcome data from the first randomized controlled trial of a behavioral parent training program for families with a parent deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. In the present study, 336 primarily National Guard and Reserve families with 4–12 year-old children were recruited from a Midwestern state. At least one parent in each family had deployed to the recent conflicts: Operations Iraqi or Enduring Freedom, or New Dawn (OIF/OEF/OND). Families were randomized to a group-based parenting program (After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools/ADAPT) or web and print resources-as-usual. Using a Social Interaction Learning framework, we hypothesized an indirect effects model: that the intervention would improve parenting, which, in turn, would be associated with improvements in child outcomes. Using intent-to-treat analyses, we examined the program's effect on observed parenting, and children's adjustment at 12 months post-baseline. Controlling for demographic (marital status, length, child gender), deployment variables (number of deployments), and baseline values, families randomized to the ADAPT intervention showed significantly improved observed parenting compared to those the comparison group. Observed parenting, in turn, was associated with significant improvements in child adjustment. These findings present the first evidence for the effectiveness of a parenting program for deployed military families with school-aged children.

The stress of multiple deployments and exposure to combat places service members at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which may detrimentally affect parenting. Evidence-based parenting programs have been successful in promoting adaptive parenting practices among families exposed to stress. However, the effects of preventive interventions on parenting may vary by military parent's PTSD. The current study includes families who participated in a randomized controlled trial of a parenting intervention for military families known as After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT). Families were randomized to either a 14-week, group-based parenting program or a comparison group. Participants included families with 4–12-year-old children in which at least one parent deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan (N=336; 945 individuals). Structural equation modeling was used to examine parent self-reported PTSD as a potential moderator of the relationship between intent-to-treat status and effective parenting practices 12-months post-baseline, while accounting for baseline effective parenting, length and number of deployments, and family demographics. Father PTSD was a significant moderator, such that the intervention was less effective for fathers who met clinical levels of PTSD. No significant moderation effects were found among mothers. These findings may have important implications for the development of future evidence-based parenting programs.

Researchers have shown that parents often disagree in their ratings of their children's behavior, and that these discrepancies are typically related to child and family characteristics (e.g., child's age, parent psychopathology). Few studies, however, have examined discrepancies in how mothers and fathers rate child behavior during a stressful family context such as a parent's wartime deployment. The present study of 174 military families (children aged 6 to 11 years; 54.0% female) examined whether family factors (parental sense of control, marital satisfaction) and contextual risk factors related to a parent's wartime deployment (number and length of deployments, battle experiences, and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms) were associated with discrepancies in how mothers and fathers rated internalizing and externalizing behaviors in their children. Using a latent congruency model, our results showed that when parents self-reported higher levels of PTSD symptoms, both mothers, β = −.33, p = .021 and fathers, β = .41, p =.026 tended to also report higher levels of internalizing symptoms in their child, relative to what their spouse reported. In comparison to mothers, fathers also tended to report higher levels of child externalizing symptoms, β = .44, p = .019. Our findings may help clinicians understand how parent mental health within a stressful family context relates and/or informs a parent's ratings on assessments of his or her child's internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

AbstractGene by Intervention (GxI) interaction studies examine how a person's genotype may moderate (i.e., increase or decrease benefit from) an intervention's impact, typically in the context of randomized controlled trials. This systematic review examines genetic moderation effects for psychosocial and behavioral interventions that are family‐based or school‐/individual‐based with family components. Differential susceptibility was the most widely used theory. All studies demonstrated significant GxI effects, but the large numbers of interventions and the fragmentary information provided by different genes limits the generalizability of conclusions. Future research should develop stronger biobehavioral theories, designs, and methodologie for studying genes in the family context. The GxI effects reviewed deepen our understanding of genetic moderation effects in intervention studies, provide implications for research by indicating who may benefit more from an intervention, and further guide efforts to personalize intervention programs to include elements to which people with certain genetic characteristics are more sensitive.