Parents’ voice: The intergenerational relationship, worry, appraisal of the deployment, and support among parents of deployed personnel

Because of the high-risk deployments into Afghanistan, soldiers’ parents have become more important in public opinion as well as in activities of family support groups. Although their voice is heard louder than ever before, research into parents’ experiences in the course of deployment is sparse. This study among 1,098 parents of Dutch soldiers reveals, among other things, that the relationship between service members and their parents can be described as strongly cohesive and may even be strengthened by a deployment. Moreover, parent– child cohesion and parents’ appraisal of their child’s deployment predict parents’ support for the armed forces and its missions. ‘‘Parents,’’ said one recruiter in Ohio who insisted on anonymity because the Army ordered all recruiters not to talk to reporters, ‘‘are the biggest hurdle we face.’’ (Cave, 2005