MILITARY LIFESTYLE’S IMPACT ON CHILDREN’S ADJUSTMENT

Military families are an understudied population and the majority of research that does exist focuses on the effects of deployments on the family system. This study aims to answer the following questions: 1) “to what degree does the relationship with parents (mother and father) and military lifestyle (number of transfers and number of deployments) predict the variance in military children’s self-esteem?”, 2) “To what degree does the relationship with parents (mother and father) and military lifestyle (number of transfers and number of deployments) predict the variance in military children’s social belongingness?”, and 3) “To what degree does the relationship with parents (mother and father) and military lifestyle (number of transfers and number of deployments) predict the variance in military children’s resilience?” Data was collected from approximately 28 children between the ages of 14 and 20 who identified as coming from an active duty military member’s household. Analysis of this data identified significant, positive relationships between mother-child connections and self-esteem, father-child relations and resilience, and mother-child relationships and the number of deployments. Results from this study may assist practitioners in responding to students in military families, appropriating the best interventions and supports within the school environment, and collaborating with parents of military children