Military Deployment and Its Consequences for Families

We are only beginning to comprehend the extent of the challenges faced by men and women serving in the military--a vast web of difficulties that include those left behind for families when service members leave for combat, and the ones that loom over families when they return.

The contributors to Military Deployment and its Consequences for Families understand in depth the complexities of military life, and how individual sacrifices translate into stressors for partners and children. Focusing on key areas such as relationship and parenting issues and the effects of wounds and injuries, chapters span the diversity of active duty, veteran, National Guard, and Reserve families, including LGB families and divorced and single service members. These findings on challenges, resources, and coping strategies give readers expert guidance in providing services for military families and helping shape the agenda for further research. Among the topics covered:

• Relational tension in couples during reintegration following deployment.
• Parenting practices and emotion regulation in National Guard and Reserve families.
• Tension between family and career: competency-based perceptions of women and mothers.
• Towards an improved understanding of post-deployment reintegration.
• Combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder and families.
• Community support and unmet needs among families of persons with TBI.

Military Deployment and its Consequences for Families focuses on military mental health and well-being, and deserves the attention of researchers and practitioners working in this important field.