Evaluation of after Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools: A Web-Enhanced Parenting Program for Military Families

Approximately half of the United States military is comprised of the Reserve Component the ‘weekend warrior’ members of the National Guard and Reserves (NG/R). The recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in an unprecedented reliance on the NG/R, with Reserve Component personnel deployed in larger numbers, and for greater lengths of time than in any prior conflict (Department of Defense, 2010). Research from the recent conflicts reveals that NG/R troops are at greater risk for posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorder than regular active duty troops (Milliken, Auchterlonie, and Hoge, 2007). Moreover, NG/R personnel live in civilian communities, lacking the support and the structure of the military installation. NG/R personnel are more likely to be partnered and parenting than active duty personnel, and their deployments – out of a civilian environment – may be particularly disruptive for their families. Indeed, recent data suggest that children experiencing a parents’ deployment may be at increased risk than their peers for a variety of deployment-related mental health problems including adjustment problems, depression, and behavior disorders (Mansfield, Kaufman, Engel, & Gaynes, 2011).

After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT) is a parent training program modified for military families (and particularly NG/R families) where a parent has deployed. Based on Parent Management Training-Oregon/PMTO Model, a well-validated parent training intervention, the goal of ADAPT is to strengthen parenting and couple adjustment following reintegration, in order to improve children’s resilience. ADAPT  modifies PMTO by enhancing attention to parents’ emotion regulation skills (potentially negatively affected by combat stress), and emotion socialization of children. A randomized controlled trial of ADAPT, funded by NIDA (R01 DA030114) is currently underway. Four hundred families with at least one child ages 5-12 and a parent deployed to the recent conflicts were recruited. Families (N=240) were randomly assigned to a 14-week web-enhanced, group-based parenting program (ADAPT) or web and print-based parenting resources (comparison group, N=160). Teacher, parent, and child report, and observational measures of family interactions were gathered at baseline, and then 12 and 24 months post-baseline; parent-report measures only were gathered at posttest (6-8 months post baseline). We report intent-to-treat outcome analyses for the first 100 families in the study at 6 months and one year post-baseline, as well as interim data demonstrating the feasibility and acceptability of the ADAPT intervention.  Implications for selective prevention programs targeting military families with school-aged children are discussed.