The effects of child encounters during military deployments on the well-being of military personnel: a systematic review

Figures & data

Figure 1. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews (PRISMA) flow diagram.

Table 1. Overall characteristics of variables for military personnel encountering children during deployment.

Variable	N	%
Context of encounter (k = 86)^a
Exposure	77	90
Training	9	10
Policy	5	6
Post-deployment intervention	2	2
Exposure: encountering children during deployment (k = 77)
Context of the account
Single-person account	55	71
Multi-person account	12	16
Group-based account	9	12
Unknown/Unsure	1	1
Gender of Child(ren)^a
Boy	35	45
Unknown/Unsure	23	30
Girl	10	13
Mixed	9	12
Type of Child(ren)^a
Armed Child	37	48
Ambiguous	23	30
Porter/human shield	8	10
Suicide bomber	6	8
Sex-related	4	5
Delivery/Munitions	3	4
Informant	2	3
Loitering	1	1
Abductions by armed groups	1	1
Outcome of Child(ren)^a
Killed (in combat)	28	36
Unknown/Unsure	18	23
Unharmed	13	17
Wounded	10	13
Detained	7	9
Killed (by accident)	5	6
Exposure: outcome as a result of encountering children during deployment (k = 77)
Whether outcomes of encounter were mentioned
Yes	49	64
No	28	36
Type of outcomes^a
During the encounter	20	26
Failure to engage	8	–
Physical injury(ies) to soldier(s)	5	–
Casualties of soldier(s)	4	–
Taken hostage	3	–
Psychological consequences	35	45
Mental health	20	–
Substance use	7	–
Hostility/Aggression	4	–
Suicidal ideation(s)	3	–
Suicide attempt	1	–
Moral/religious consequences	25	32
Well-being	25	32
Social consequences	16	21
Relationship related	15	–
Professional related	1	–
Training or treatment information (k = 86)
Training received in preparation of exposure^a
Unknown/Unsure	81	94
No	3	3
Yes	2	2
Sought treatment
Unknown/Unsure	61	79
Yes	16	21
No	0	0
N/A	9	–
Recommendations/policy suggestions^a
Pre-deployment training	6	7
Guidelines for engagement	5	6
International/National Laws/Foreign Policies	4	5
Post-deployment intervention	3	3
Mental health support services/Treatment programs	2	2
No mention	80	93
Notation of lack of infrastructure^a
Lack of training	7	8
Lack of policies	5	6
Lack of mental health support/intervention	2	2
Lack of published studies/consequences of exposure	2	2
No mention	79	92

^a For the variables identified, data were extracted and were not mutually exclusive (e.g. one case could report encountering an armed child and ambiguous child); therefore, the total number of data points could exceed the total number of samples.

Table 2. Key findings from the systematic review of available literature.

Topic	Key findings
Type of Child(ren)	Most common child encounters reported by military personnel Armed Child Ambiguous Suicide Bomber Porters and/or Human Shields
Consequences	As described by military personnel following encountering children during deployment During the Encounter^a Psychological Moral/Religious General Well-Being Social
Training, Policies, Intervention	Highlighted the lack of training and policies currently available to military personnel when encountering children during deployment Limited research on post-deployment interventions available to military personnel following exposure to children during deployment

Note. The systematic review included primarily qualitative data.

^a Includes failure to engage according to mission objectives, being taken hostage, and physical injury during combat.

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials.