Sheila Hanson

Promoting parenting to support reintegrating military families: after deployment, adaptive parenting tools.

The high operational tempo of the current conflicts and the unprecedented reliance on National Guard and Reserve forces highlights the need for services to promote reintegration efforts for those transitioning back to civilian family life. Despite evidence that parenting has significant influence on childrens functioning, and that parenting may be impaired during stressful family transitions, there is a dearth of empirically supported psychological interventions tailored for military families reintegrating after deployment. This article reports on the modification of an empirically supported parenting intervention for families in which a parent has deployed to war. A theoretical rationale for addressing parenting during reintegration after deployment is discussed. We describe the intervention, After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT), and report early feasibility and acceptability data from a randomized controlled effectiveness trial of ADAPT, a 14-week group-based, Web-enhanced parenting training program. Among the first 42 families assigned to the intervention group, participation rates were high, and equal among mothers and fathers. Satisfaction was high across all 14 sessions. Implications for psychological services to military families dealing with the deployment process are discussed.

If You Build It, Will They Come? Patterns of Internet-Based and Face-To-Face Participation in a Parenting Program for Military Families

Background Some evidence suggests parents are drawn to media-based interventions over face-to-face interventions, but little is known about the factors associated with parents’ use of Internet-based or Internet-enhanced programs, especially among military families. Research is needed to understand characteristics of parents who may be most likely to use online components or attend face-to-face meetings in order to ensure maximum engagement. Objective In this study, we examined characteristics that predict various patterns of Internet use and face-to-face attendance in a parenting program designed for military families. Methods An ecological framework guided analysis of differences in patterns of Internet-based use and face-to-face attendance by parents’ demographic characteristics (gender, education, employment, and child age), incentives offered, and number of months the parent was deployed. We reported differences in the total number of online components completed over the 14 modules, total number of face-to-face sessions attended, and the use of different types of online components accessed (videos, downloadable handouts, mindfulness exercises, knowledge checks, and downloadable summaries). Then, we computed multinomial logistic regression accounting for nestedness (parents within families) to examine associations between demographic, programmatic, and military-related characteristics and patterns of engagement (use of online components and attendance at face-to-face sessions). Results Just over half (52.2%, 193/370) of the participants used the online components at least once, and the majority of participants (73.2%, 271/370) attended at least 1 face-to-face session. An examination of different patterns of participation revealed that compared with those who participated primarily in face-to-face sessions, parents who participated online but had little face-to-face participation were more likely to have received incentives than those who did not (95% CI 1.9-129.7). Among participants who had been deployed, those who had earned a 4-year degree (95% CI 1.0-2.2) and those who had been offered incentives to participate online (95% CI 2.1-58.6) were more likely to be highly engaged in online components and attend face-to-face compared with those who attended primarily face-to-face. However, those with a high number of months of deployment (95% CI 0.6-1.0) were less likely to be in the pattern of highly engaged in online components and face-to-face attendance. Compared with those who participated primarily face-to-face, deployed mothers were about 4 times more likely to engage in moderate online use with face-to-face attendance than deployed fathers (95% CI 1.21-11.83) and participate primarily online (95% CI 0.77-25.20). Conclusions Results imply that parents may be drawn to different delivery options of a parenting program (online components vs face-to-face sessions) depending on their education level, incentives to engage in online components, and their military-related experience. Results suggest potential directions for tailoring Internet-based interventions.

Fostering resilience in national guard and reserve families: A contextual adaptation of an evidence-based parenting program

Military deployment of a parent is a risk factor for children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. This risk may be heightened in National Guard and Reserve (NG/R) families who tend to be isolated from other NG/R families and do not benefit from the centralized support system available to active duty families living on military bases. Isolation and trauma-related disorders may complicate the adjustment of military families during reintegration. An evidence-based parent training intervention was modified to meet the unique needs of recently deployed NG/R parents and their spouses, and the modified program was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. The current study examines engagement and satisfaction with the program. Modifications such as employment of military-connected facilitators sought to maximize engagement in and satisfaction with the program. Engagement and satisfaction were examined between mothers and fathers, as well as between groups led by a military-connected facilitator and those led by civilian facilitators. Significantly greater engagement was noted for groups that were led by a military-connected facilitator (p = .01). There were no differences between genders in attendance rates, though greater positive group experiences were reported by mothers versus fathers (p = .01). Results are discussed in the context of engagement and satisfaction reported for similar programs. Implications for working with military families are also considered.