Monica Christina Esqueda

The Children of Military Service Members: Challenges, Supports, and Future Educational Research

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have led to concerning psychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes for children in military families. Of the 1.2 million school-aged children of military service members, only 86,000 actually attend schools administered by the Department of Defense on military installations throughout the world. The remaining military children attend schools administered by civilian public schools, private schools, and other civilian-run educational agencies. At present, there is a knowledge gap in educational research regarding military-connected schools and students. Given the lack of educational research on military children, the primary objective of this review is to outline findings from noneducational disciplinary empirical literatures that are of direct relevance to schooling for educational researchers who want to conduct studies on military-connected schools and students. The authors reviewed studies on military children and their families that examined links between special circumstances and stressors as well as outcomes that are known to impact students’ school experiences. A synthesis of literature generated six themes: mental health in military families, child maltreatment, the impact of deployment on military children and families, the reintegration experience, war-related trauma of the returning veteran parent, and the experience of Reservist and Guard families in civilian contexts. The article concludes with a heuristic model for future educational research, including linkages to school reform.

Well-being and suicidal ideation of secondary school students from military families.

BACKGROUND The mental health of children is a primary public health concern; adolescents of military personnel may be at increased risk of experiencing poorer well-being overall and depressive symptoms specifically. These adolescents experience individual and intrafamilial stressors of parental deployment and reintegration, which are directly and indirectly associated with internalizing behaviors. PURPOSE The present study sought to better understand the influence of parental military connectedness and parental deployment on adolescent mental health. METHODS Data from the 2011 California Healthy Kids Survey examined feeling sad or hopeless, suicidal ideation, well-being, and depressive symptoms by military connectedness in a subsample (n = 14,299) of seventh-, ninth-, and 11th-grade California adolescents. Cross-classification tables and multiple logistic regression analyses were used. RESULTS More than 13% of the sample had a parent or sibling in the military. Those with military connections were more likely to report depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Controlling for grade, gender, and race/ethnicity, reporting any familial deployment compared with no deployments was associated with increasing odds of experiencing sadness or hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS Findings emphasize the increased risk of mental health issues among youth with parents (and siblings) in the military. Although deployment-related mental health stressors are less likely during peace, during times of war there is a need for increased screening in primary care and school settings. Systematic referral systems and collaboration with community-based mental health centers will bolster screening and services.

A Call to Duty: Educational Policy and School Reform Addressing the Needs of Children From Military Families

More than 90% of the nation’s 1.2 million military children attend civilian-operated public schools. Education researchers, however, often overlook the educational experiences and needs of military children attending civilian-operated public schools (i.e., schools that are administered by and under the purview of local education agencies). This article is the first in an educational research journal to examine the intersections among state policy, school reform, and the educational experiences of military children. This article also highlights new data sources and funding opportunities for research on military students.

The Promotional Role of School and Community Contexts for Military Students

This article examines how supportive public school environments can serve as a promotional context for the development of children and adolescents from military families. The authors integrate theory and research from multiple research strands (e.g., human development, studies of at-risk youth, educational reform, goodness of fit theory, and school climate) to outline how public schools can support the development of all children and adolescents. This article provides further support for the supposition that school climates and the social-ecological contexts surrounding a school (e.g., universities, communities, school districts) have the potential to protect at-risk children and adolescents from an array of negative social, emotional, and psychological outcomes. The authors draw linkages between these research domains and the development of military children and adolescents. Promotional civilian school environments embedded within supportive and inclusive contexts can create a social infrastructure that supports the development of military children and adolescents. The authors argue that this conceptual approach can create a foundation for interventions and research that focuses on schools as normative supportive developmental settings for military children and youth during challenging times of war (e.g., deployments and multiple school transitions). This article concludes with a discussion of future directions in research on the development of military children and adolescents. Based on a heuristic conceptual model that outlines areas needing further research, the authors call for a deeper theoretical and empirical integration of school climate and external contextual factors surrounding the school. Investigating the social and organizational dynamics within these contexts can result in a more comprehensive picture of the development of military children and adolescents.

School Climate Perceptions Among Students in Military-Connected Schools: A Comparison of Military and Nonmilitary Students in the Same Schools

Studies have found that, when compared with civilian children, military children have more negative social, emotional, and psychological outcomes. The social and emotional climate of public schools could potentially protect military children and adolescents from negative outcomes. Recent studies have found that civilian-operated public schools are struggling to respond to the social and emotional challenges of military students. This study uses a population sample to examine the school climate perceptions of students in military-connected schools. Overall, results show that military-connected students have more negative school climate perceptions than nonmilitary students.

Substance Use Among Transgender Students in California Public Middle and High Schools

BACKGROUND Transgender adolescents face tremendous social stress in families and schools, which often leads to behavioral health disparities. This study assessed whether rates of substance use were higher among transgender adolescents when compared to nontransgender adolescents. METHODS This study is a secondary data analysis of the 2013-2015 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) that examines whether rates of substance use are higher among transgender youth when compared to nontransgender youth. Participants included 4778 transgender and 630,200 nontransgender students in middle and high schools in nearly all school districts in California. The study outcomes were lifetime, recent, and in-school use of cigarettes, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy as well as nonmedical use of prescription painkillers, diet pills, Ritalin or Adderall, and cold medicine. RESULTS Transgender students were about 2-1/2 times more likely as nontransgender students to use cocaine/methamphetamine in their lifetime (odds ratio [OR] = 2.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.18-2.95) and about 2.8 times as likely to report past 30-day inhalant use (OR = 2.80; 95% CI = 2.41-3.26). Transgender students were more than twice as likely to report past 30-day prescription pain medication use (OR = 2.19; 95% CI = 1.90-2.53) and more than 3 times as likely to use cigarettes in school (OR = 3.37; 95% CI = 2.84-3.99). CONCLUSIONS The studys findings indicate a need for community- and school-based interventions that reduce substance use among transgender youth.

Understanding safety, victimization and school climate among rural lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth

ABSTRACT Nearly three decades of research have examined the experiences of LGBTQ students in schools. These include numerous studies documenting elevated rates of school victimization, as well as how an LGBTQ affirming school climate may enhance safety among LGBTQ students. Of the studies conducted, research has focused mostly on LGBTQ students in urban and suburban communities, while few have focused on rural LGBTQ youth. Using a sample of LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ secondary school students from a rural school district in California, this study explores the relationship between LGBTQ affirming school climates and the safety and victimization of LGBTQ students. Results indicate that LGBTQ support and peer and teacher intervention were associated with higher levels of safety among LGBTQ youth. In addition, the presence of a GSA at school was associated with lower levels of safety among LGBTQ students. Findings from this study inform school-based interventions for LGBTQ youth in rural schools and contribute to scholarship exploring LGBTQ youth issues in rural school communities.

Welcoming Parents to Their Child’s School: Practices Supporting Students With Diverse Needs and Backgrounds

While researchers acknowledge the importance of parents feeling welcomed and engaged in their child’s school, the school’s welcoming practices to engage parents have been rarely explored. Parents’ qualitative responses provide insight into what impacts their initial and ongoing experience of being welcomed into their child’s new school. In total, 1,020 and 191 parents and/or legal guardians of students enrolled in Grades pre-K through 12 across five California school districts answered first and second open-ended qualitative questions, respectively. Findings are categorized into three separate themes. Schools play a vital role for the entire family when transitioning into a new community. Parents expressed the desire to serve as important partners for the school in creating positive outcomes for the students, classrooms, and the school as a whole.

Exploring School Victimization and Weapon Carrying Among Military-Connected Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth in California Schools

Military-connected youth often experience daily stressors that affect their academic success and social and emotional development. Stressors such as multiple deployments and frequent school transitions may weaken the social ties that military-connected youth have with school communities, placing them at risk of social alienation and victimization. Within this youth population, military-connected lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth may be especially at risk of school victimization. However, to the authors’ knowledge, no empirical studies have been conducted on the school experiences of military-connected LGBT youth. Drawing from the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS; n = 634,978), this study explored school victimization and weapon carrying among military-connected LGBT youth and their peers. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that military connection, LGB identity, and transgender identity were associated with an increased odds of nonphysical victimization, physical violence, and weapon carrying. Military transgender youth were at an increased risk of weapon carrying (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.63; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.23, 2.16]). Future research is needed to explore risk and protective factors influencing school victimization and weapon carrying among military-connected LGBT youth.