Parenting and Youth Adjustment Across Deployment

This study examined how changes in at‐home parents\u27 mental health and parenting practices related to changes in their children\u27s adjustment throughout the course of a service members\u27 military deployment. Participants included at‐home parents from 114 National Guard families who were interviewed at four different occasions across the deployment cycle. The results revealed changes across the deployment cycle among the following three indicators: parental warmth, depressive symptoms, and children\u27s externalizing behaviors. Changes in parental warmth were associated with changes in children\u27s adjustment. Overall, these findings indicate that during parental separation, at‐home parents\u27 responses to children have important implications for children\u27s adjustment