Possible Predictors of Military Family Participation in Parenting Program to Assist with Reintegration

Introduction:  Since 2001, nearly 2 million US service members have been deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND) (Makin-Byrd, 2011). Over ¼ of military personnel have children (Makin-Byrd, 2011) who are at risk of emotional and behavioral maladjustment during the deployment cycle, but particularly during reintegration (Gewirtz & Davis, in press).  Effective parenting programs may buffer the effect of stressful experiences on child adjustment by improving parenting (e.g. Forgatch & DeGarmo, 2011).  Thus, reintegrating military parents were offered specialized parenting support through the After Deployment: Adaptive Parenting Program (ADAPT).  Because depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and alcohol use affect parent functioning, and have been shown to be elevated during reintegration (Makin-Byrd, 2011), we examined the extent to which these difficulties may impact participation in ADAPT.  

Methods: In an ongoing randomized controlled trial of ADAPT, 59 reintegrating parents and their spouses/partners were invited to participate in the intervention group; ADAPT. Hierarchical Linear Regression was conducted to determine the extent to which symptoms of PTSD, depression, and alcohol abuse predicted attendance in the parenting program, after accounting for demographics.  

Results: Families with higher levels of education and higher income attended more ADAPT sessions. Within the non-deployed spouses, three males and 24 females, after accounting for gender, income, and education, symptoms of PTSD predicted greater attendance (R²change = .28, Beta = .347, p = .08).  When examining PTSD symptom clusters separately, results indicated that PTSD hyperarousal symptoms significantly predicted better attendance in non-deployed parents (R²change = .60, beta = .89, p = .02).  Depression did not predict attendance in either parent group (PS > .28).  Alcohol abuse symptoms predicted poorer attendance in the non-deployed parents, at the level of a trend (R²change = .50, beta = -.92, p = .10).   

Conclusions: The relation of mental health and substance use problems to engagement in ADAPT appears specific to gender and NG/R status. To better engage a wider range of families, ADAPT may add elements to the program that would appeal families with a lower socioeconomic status and possibly address the topic of alcohol use among non-deployed parents. By addressing those two topics ADAPT may enhance the parents’ maximal benefit from the program. Given the small sample, analysis of group participation and the factors addressed should continue as the cohorts continue to provide more data to possibly support the findings.