A latent class analysis of the impact of family member military service on adolescent behavioral health

Substance use in adolescence has been found to co-occur with poor mental health. This is of particular interest among military-connected youth in the United States who may experience stress associated with family member deployments and may be at increased risk for both substance use and depressed mood. Latent class analysis of data from the California Healthy Kids Survey was utilized to examine variation in the co-occurrence of past 30 day use of ATOD with suicidal ideation or sad/hopeless mood and their association with perceptions and experiences of being  military connected or not (N=7167). The latent class analysis revealed a four class solution. Youth in the first class were not military connected and had a 13% chance of reporting co-occurring substance use and mental health issues.  The second class included youth who had an 80% chance of having a parent on active duty. These youth reported feeling that the military supported their family and that their family sacrifice is important.  They also had a 13% chance of co-occurring outcomes.  The third class included youth who were 60% likely to have a parent serving. These youth had a lower probability of feeling supported by the military or that their family sacrifice was important. The likelihood of co-occurrence for this class was 16.2%.  Finally, the fourth class represented youth who had a 57% chance to have a sibling on active duty.  They reported that they did not feel supported by the military or that their sacrifice was important.  These youth had a 21.3% chance for co-occurring substance use and mental health.  Much of the literature currently focuses on the influence of parental military service.  These findings support a need for additional research on the adolescent siblings of military service persons.