Most teenagers in military families probably don’t remember life before war and deployment. Having a parent in a war zone may not fit into typical teenage thought processes, but our kids aren’t typical. Military members are less than 1% of the American populace, government statistics say. Our teens’ experiences set them apart, but how much and for how long?
Michelle Sherman, Ph.D., director of the Family Mental Health Program at the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Hospital, said there is not enough research to define the long-term affects of deployment on military children.
Although this is the most studied war in U.S. history, she said, “We did not start to do research on these kids early enough in the ten years of this war to have longitudinal data, so the jury is out.”
However, there is growing evidence of the short-term effects on children of all ages, said Sherman, who is also a professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
By Terri Barnes
War's toll on teenagers - Spouse Calls - Stripes
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