Who Gets Left Behind: Adolescent Quality of Life in Military Families

Background:In 2007, 1.88 million US children had at least one parent serving in the military. Adolescents are vulnerable to adverse health effects from parental deployment. Normal development may be interrupted and many experience worry, anxiety, and behavior problems at school. Qualitative studies underscore the difficulties associated with parental deployment; however, little quantitative research has addressed these issues. Methods: This cross-sectional study examines associations between parental military service and adolescent quality of life (QoL) in a sample of 8th, 10th and 12th grade public school students in Washington State who completed the 2008 Healthy Youth Survey (n=10,010). Parental military service is categorized as none, service without combat zone deployment, or service deployed to a combat zone in the past six years. The outcome is a well-validated QoL scale dichotomized (high/low) using an established cut-point. Multivariable logistic regression with standard errors adjusted for the complex survey design is used to test associations between parental military service and QoL. Results: The prevalence of parental military service in the three categories –none, service without combat, and service with combat—was 82%, 12%, and 6%. In ANOVA tests adjusted for multiple comparisons, parental military service is significantly associated with low QoL, with 21%, 28% and 34% reporting low QoL (p<0.01) in the three categories, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis is underway. Conclusion: Parental military status is significant predictor of low adolescent QoL and may offer points of intervention to expand school district support for military families and enhance community resources to better serve youth at risk.