Michelle Kees

A motivational intervention can improve retention in PCIT for low-motivation child welfare clients.

A motivational orientation intervention designed to improve parenting program retention was field tested versus standard orientation across two parenting programs, Parent—Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and a standard didactic parent training group. Both interventions were implemented within a frontline child welfare parenting center by center staff. Participants had an average of six prior child welfare referrals, primarily for neglect. A double-randomized design was used to test main and interaction effects. The motivational intervention improved retention only when combined with PCIT (cumulative survival = 85% vs. around 61% for the three other design cells). Benefits were robust across demographic characteristics and participation barriers but were concentrated among participants whose initial level of motivation was low to moderate. There were negative effects for participants with relatively high initial motivation. The findings suggest that using a motivational intervention combined with PCIT can improve retention when used selectively with relatively low to moderately motivated child welfare clients.

Buddy-to-Buddy, a citizen soldier peer support program to counteract stigma, PTSD, depression, and suicide.

Citizen soldiers (National Guard and Reserves) represent approximately 40% of the two million armed forces deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Twenty‐five to forty percent of them develop PTSD, clinical depression, sleep disturbances, or suicidal thoughts. Upon returning home, many encounter additional stresses and hurdles to obtaining care: specifically, many civilian communities lack military medical/psychiatric facilities; financial, job, home, and relationship stresses have evolved or have been exacerbated during deployment; uncertainty has increased related to future deployment; there is loss of contact with military peers; and there is reluctance to recognize and acknowledge mental health needs that interfere with treatment entry and adherence. Approximately half of those needing help are not receiving it. To address this constellation of issues, a private–public partnership was formed under the auspices of the Welcome Back Veterans Initiative. In Michigan, the Army National Guard teamed with the University of Michigan and Michigan State University to develop innovative peer‐to‐peer programs for soldiers (Buddy‐to‐Buddy) and augmented programs for military families. Goals are to improve treatment entry, adherence, clinical outcomes, and to reduce suicides. This manuscript describes training approaches, preliminary results, and explores future national dissemination.

Hazardous Drinking and Family Functioning in National Guard Veterans and Spouses Postdeployment

The current study examined rates of alcohol misuse among National Guard (NG) service members and their spouses/partners, concordance of drinking behaviors among couples, and the effects of alcohol misuse, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on three measures of family functioning. This study is important because it addresses the topics of heavy drinking and family functioning in an at-risk population-NG service members returning from a combat zone deployment. We surveyed NG service members (1,143) and their partners (674) 45-90 days after returning from a military deployment. Service member rates of hazardous drinking were 29.2% and spouses/partners 10.7%. Of the 661 linked couples, 26.2% were discrepant where only one member met the criteria for hazardous drinking and 5.4% were congruent for alcohol misuse where both members met hazardous drinking criteria. Service members belonging to either congruent or discrepant drinking groups were more distressed in their marriages/relationships than those in the nonhazardous group. In dyadic analyses, an unexpected partner effect was found for parenting outcomes; that is, when service members drink more, their spouses/partners are less stressed when it comes to parenting. Importantly, both service member and spouse/partner depression was significantly associated with negative family outcomes. Results from this study suggest that when working with these families, it is important to understand the drinking status of both soldier and spouse and to treat depression in addition to alcohol misuse.

When Disaster Strikes: Responding to the Needs of Children

When a disaster strikes, parents are quick to seek out the medical advice and reassurance of their primary care physician, pediatrician, or in the case of an emergency, an emergency department physician. As physicians often are the first line of responders following a disaster, it is important that they have a thorough understanding of childrens responses to trauma and disaster and of recommended practices for screening and intervention. In collaboration with mental health professionals, the needs of children and families can be addressed. Policy-makers and systems of care hold great responsibility for resource allocation, and also are well-placed to understand the impact of trauma and disaster on children and childrens unique needs in such situations.

Reported barriers to mental health care in three samples of U.S. Army National Guard soldiers at three time points.

The military community and its partners have made vigorous efforts to address treatment barriers and increase appropriate mental health services use among returning National Guard soldiers. We assessed whether there were differences in reports of treatment barriers in 3 categories (stigma, logistics, or negative beliefs about treatment) in sequential cross-sectional samples of U.S. soldiers from a Midwestern Army National Guard Organization who were returning from overseas deployments. Data were collected during 3 time periods: September 2007-August 2008 (n = 333), March 2009-March 2010 (n = 884), and August 2011-August 2012 (n = 737). In analyses using discretized time periods and in trend analyses, the percentages of soldiers endorsing negative beliefs about treatment declined significantly across the 3 sequential samples (19.1%, 13.9%, and 11.1%). The percentages endorsing stigma barriers (37.8%, 35.2%, 31.8%) decreased significantly only in trend analyses. Within the stigma category, endorsement of individual barriers regarding negative reactions to a soldier seeking treatment declined, but barriers related to concerns about career advancement did not. Negative treatment beliefs were associated with reduced services use (OR = 0.57; 95% CI [0.33, 0.97]).

Public-Academic Partnerships: Working Together to Meet the Needs of Army National Guard Soldiers: An Academic-Military Partnership

The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have greatly increased the number of veterans returning home with combat exposure, reintegration issues, and psychiatric symptoms. National Guard soldiers face additional challenges. Unlike active duty soldiers, they do not return to military installations with access to military health services or peers. The authors describe the formation and activities of a partnership among two large state universities in Michigan and the Michigan Army National Guard, established to assess and develop programming to meet the needs of returning soldiers. The process of forming the partnership and the challenges, opportunities, and benefits arising from it are described.

Evaluation of a Psychological Health and Resilience Intervention for Military Spouses: A Pilot Study

The decade long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have placed considerable strain on military families. Given robust data showing high rates of deployment-related psychological health problems in spouses and children, and the near absence of evidence-based psychological health programs for military families in the community, interventions are urgently needed to support and strengthen spouses as they adjust to deployment transitions and military life experiences. This Phase 1 pilot study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a resiliency intervention for military spouses in civilian communities (HomeFront Strong; HFS), and generated preliminary efficacy data regarding impacts on psychological health and adjustment. Through two group cohorts, 14 women completed the intervention, with 10 women providing pre- and postgroup assessment data. Findings support feasibility of the intervention and high rates of program satisfaction. Participants reported learning new strategies and feeling more knowledgeable in their ability to use effective coping skills for managing deployment and military-related stressors. Participation in HFS was also associated with reduction in levels of anxiety and perceived stress, and improvements in life satisfaction and life engagement. HFS is a promising community-based intervention for military spouses designed to enhance resiliency, reduce negative psychological health symptoms, and improve coping.

STRONG MILITARY FAMILIES INTERVENTION ENHANCES PARENTING REFLECTIVITY AND REPRESENTATIONS IN FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN: Strong Military Families Intervention

Military families face many challenges due to deployment and parental separation, and this can be especially difficult for families with young children. The Strong Military Families (SMF) intervention is for military families with young children, and consists of two versions: the Multifamily Group, and a Home-based psychoeducational written materials program. The Multifamily Group was designed to enhance positive parenting through both educational components and in vivo feedback and support during separations and reunions between parents and children (n = 78 parents). In the present study, we examine parenting reflectivity and mental representations in mothers versus fathers in military families, service members versus civilian spouses/parenting partners, and before versus after participation in the SMF Multifamily Group and Home-based interventions. Parenting reflectivity and mental representations were coded from the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI; C.H. Zeanah & D. Benoit, 1995). Results suggest that neither parenting reflectivity nor WMCI typology differs between mothers and fathers in military families, or between service members and civilian parenting partners. Furthermore, there was substantial stability in parenting reflectivity and WMCI typology from baseline to posttest, but participation in the Multifamily Group, relative to Home-based, was associated with improvements in both parenting reflectivity and WMCI ratings from baseline to postintervention.

Veteran Mental Health and Employment: The Nexus and Beyond

In the armed forces, “service” denotes a willingness to “work for” your country, wages, personal recognition of accomplishment, your brothers/sisters in arms, and references the importance of work in the identity of these individuals. Veteran employment and mental health are intricately connected and at times dependent upon each other. As such, focusing on one in isolation is not recommended. To help veterans successfully integrate back into their communities and move toward mental health recovery when needed, a more integrated approach is warranted. In this chapter, we review the state of the literature concerning veteran employment, effects of mental illness on veteran employment, and examine current employment services for veterans. This chapter concludes with a discussion of approaches that show promise for addressing the nexus of employment and mental health in veterans, as well as identifying future directions for research to help better mitigate the needs of our veterans.

Lessons Learned and Future Recommendations for Conducting Research with Military Children and Families

When the US military began combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2002, little was known about how military children and families would be affected by combat-related service in an era of prolonged war. The ability of clinicians, policymakers, community service providers, commanders, and researchers to meet the needs of military children was limited by outdated research, inappropriate comparison groups, uneven systems of care, and a lack of evidence-based practices to guide intervention. Fortunately, strategic partnerships grew out of the collaborative efforts of academics, practitioners, and military leadership united in a common mission to support military children and families. This chapter describes the historical context of research on military children and families, identifying challenges to conducting high-quality research, and delineating best practices for scholarship. The following research-related lessons learned are highlighted: understanding and respecting military family culture, building trust within the community, fostering lasting relationships within the community, building collaborative multidisciplinary academic research teams, and sustaining a scientific military family program of research. Recommendations and future directions for researchers, military leaders, policymakers, and funders are also discussed.