Study: Military children more likely to be troubled
Marine Sgt. Michael Salemi, 24, of Setauket leads a patrol with Marines and Afghan National Army soldiers to inform villagers of the upcoming visit of the district governor to their Combat Outpost in Shaibat, southern Afghanistan, on Sept. 25, 2009. The Combat Outpost is the most south western outpost in Helmand Province. Salemi is with the Second Marine Division, Second Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Delta Company. (September 2009) Credit: Charles Eckert
Children of a parent at war, especially those who don't live on a military base, suffer more emotional stress and behavioral issues than other American youth, according to a study of 1,500 military children conducted by the Rand Corporation.
The findings, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, could be particularly significant to the many Army and Air Force National Guard troops on Long Island who've made repeated tours to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Long Island does not have residential military bases that elsewhere provide supportive emotional environments for the families of deployed troops.
Researchers found that across all age groups, children from military families reported significantly higher levels of emotional difficulties than children in the general population. Teens were the most troubled.
The children experienced problems engaging academically, anxieties, behavioral troubles and emotional difficulties, according to the report. The longer the parent was deployed, the more likely a child was to have problems.
John Javis, of the advocacy group Veterans Health Alliance of Long Island, said the report's findings are reflected in the children of Long Island's Guard and Reserve troops. "With older children, they may see things on the news or in the mall, people speaking out against the war, and with their parent gone, it can be upsetting," he said.
Last year, troops deployed from several locally based Guard or Reserve units.
Last weekend, the New York National Guard addressed the issue of support for children at a predeployment seminar attended by 500 soldiers and relatives affiliated with the 442nd Military Police Company. The 442nd, which is based at the Jamaica armory in Queens, is expected to deploy to Iraq in April.
"For all these children to know there are other children going through the same things they are is comforting for them," said Laraine Figliuolo, of Sayville, a National Guard family readiness support assistant, whose husband, Victor, served in Bosnia while their children were young.
Nationwide, about 2 million children had a parent in either the active or reserve component of the military in 2009.
'We have to do better' Newsday high school sports editor Gregg Sarra talks about a bench-clearing, parent-involved incident at a Half Hollow Hills West basketball game.
'We have to do better' Newsday high school sports editor Gregg Sarra talks about a bench-clearing, parent-involved incident at a Half Hollow Hills West basketball game.
