Young People’s Support Needs During the Military–Civilian Transition: “I Would Have Been a Very Different Person if There was More Support Available”

ABSTRACT

When families transition out of the Australian Defence Force, they can experience a range of challenges that pose risks to their mental health and wellbeing. These may be further complicated by a lack of access to services and low uptake of existing support. While some research has investigated the experiences of previously serving men and women, the support needs of their children have received little empirical attention. This article reports on a qualitative study that explored the experiences of young people who are now adults, when their parents left the Australian Defence Force. Themes developed included gaps in defence and civilian support, inadequate school support, military stigma and receptiveness to support, and ideas for improving strategies and support. Findings were analysed using a thematic approach, and then a socioecological lens was applied, highlighting the multilevel support needs as well as the significant service gaps experienced by young people during the military–civilian transition.

IMPLICATIONS

• Understanding young people’s experiences when their parents leave the Australian Defence Force can help social workers and other disciplines appropriately address their support needs through research and practice.

• Engagement and service provision efforts should consider the multilevel systems that protect young people from experiencing critical or long-term impacts. They should recognise the role of young people’s agency, acknowledging that experiences during the military–civilian transition are not homogenous.

KEYWORDS:

• Military–Civilian Transition
• Military to Civilian Transition
• MCT
• Australian Defence Force
• ADF
• Military Families
• Young People
• Support Needs

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the participants of this study for their time and valuable contributions to the knowledge base of veteran family experiences and wellbeing.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The study reported on in this article is part of a PhD project at the University of Newcastle which was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program [RTP] Scholarship awarded to the doctoral candidate, and first author, Hannah Wells.