The Impact of Military Fathers’ Mental Health on the Well-Being of Their Children Postdeployment: Findings From National Guard Fathers

Abstract

Deployment and reintegration can be a source of significant stress for military service members and their families. In particular, military fathers’ mental health can have a significant impact on their children’s well-being. To examine this phenomenon during the postdeployment period, this study sampled 208 National Guard fathers and their partners. We specifically examined the link between fathers’ mental health symptoms (depression and PTSD) and children’s behavioral difficulties (as reported by the service member and their partner) at reintegration and 2 years postdeployment. Results indicate that higher levels of soldier depression at reintegration were associated with worse child behavioral outcomes. In addition, higher levels of soldier PTSD were linked with more child behavioral difficulties at 2 years postdeployment. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords:

• Military
• National Guard
• deployment
• families and children
• parenthood
• posttraumatic stress disorder
• depression

Acknowledgements

This manuscript represents the original work of the authors and has not been published or simultaneously submitted elsewhere.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs through the Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program under Award No. W81XWH-12-1-0419 and 0418 (Blow, PI; Gorman, Partnering PI). Pre-deployment data collection was supported by the Rachel Upjohn Clinical Scholars Award and the Berman Research Fund at the University of Michigan, Depression Center as well as the College of Social Science and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University.