Matern Child Health J DOI 10.1007/s10995-014-1430-2

Weapon Carrying, Physical Fighting and Gang Membership Among Youth in Washington State Military Families Sarah C. Reed • Janice F. Bell • Todd C. Edwards

Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Abstract To examine associations between parental military service and school-based weapon carrying, schoolbased physical fighting and gang membership among youth. We used cross-sectional data from the 2008 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey collected in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades of public schools (n = 9,987). Parental military service was categorized as none (reference group), without combat zone deployment, or deployed to a combat zone. Multivariable logistic regression was used to test associations between parental military service and three outcomes: school-based weapon carrying, school-based physical fighting and gang membership. Standard errors were adjusted for the complex survey design. In 8th grade, parental deployment was associated with higher odds of reporting gang membership (OR = 1.8) among girls, and higher odds of physical fighting (OR = 1.6), and gang membership (OR = 1.9) among boys. In 10th/12th grade, parental deployment was associated with higher odds of reporting physical fighting (OR = 2.0) and gang membership (OR = 2.2) among girls, and physical fighting (OR = 2.0), carrying a weapon (OR = 2.3) among boys. Parental military deployment is associated with increased

S. C. Reed (&)  J. F. Bell Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, University of California, Davis, Education Building, 4610 X Street, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA e-mail: [email protected] J. F. Bell e-mail: [email protected] T. C. Edwards Center for Disability Policy and Research, University of Washington, 1208 NE 43rd St., Campus Box 359455, Seattle, WA 98195-9455, USA e-mail: [email protected]

odds of reporting engagement in school-based physical fighting, school-based weapon carrying, and gang membership, particularly among older youth. Military, school, and public health professionals have a unique, collaborative opportunity to develop school- and community-based interventions to prevent violence-related behaviors among youth and, ultimately, improve the health and safety of youth in military families. Ideally, such programs would target families and youth before they enter eighth grade. Keywords Military

Adolescence  Violence-related outcomes 

Introduction Almost 2 million children have at least one parent serving in the military [1]. In recent years, the adverse experiences and psychological outcomes of service members from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)—including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and intimate partner violence—have been well documented [2, 3]. A growing number of studies are beginning to examine the impacts of military service on families; however, little is known about the effects on service members’ children and youth (hereafter youth) [4]. The health effects of combat exposure in wars prior to Iraq and Afghanistan include increased risk of stress, poor functioning, conflict and violence [5]. Veterans with combat exposure have higher rates of physical partner aggression [5–7], and their spouses report higher rates of emotional and psychological abuse [8]. While research from the current wars is sparse, active duty soldiers and veterans, especially soldiers with PTSD, report high rates of interpersonal conflict [9, 10]. Veterans with PTSD are

123

Matern Child Health J

also more likely to both perpetrate and sustain psychological and physical abuse [6]. Youth may be vulnerable to adverse health effects from parental military deployment. Healthy development can be interrupted [11] and exposure to war-related media coverage coupled with the developmental ability to understand the violent consequences of war may further disrupt youth adjustment and coping [12, 13]. At the same time, adolescence is characterized by an increased predisposition to health risk behaviors (e.g., experimentation with alcohol and drugs,) that may be exacerbated with parental absence, parental stress, and exposure to family violence [6, 14]. Known effects of exposure to domestic violence on youth include mood disturbance, physical aggression, behavior problems and trauma symptoms [15]. Available research from the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars suggests deployment is associated with increased risk of stress, emotional and behavioral problems among youth in military families [16–18]. During deployment and postdeployment, youth in military families are at increased risk for maltreatment [19–21] and the effects of secondary trauma [9]. Youth in military families whose parents are deployed in OEF/OIF demonstrate a higher prevalence of psychological stress both in early childhood [22] and adolescence [12, 22–24]. Youth with a military parent are more likely to be exposed to family violence [6, 25, 26] which may place them at future risk for aggression, hostility and violent behavior [27–30]. As contributing factors to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among youth, behaviors that lead to unintentional injuries and violence are a priority healthrisk category for monitoring in the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System [14]. Despite efforts in violence prevention, these national data suggest there have been no significant changes in the prevalence of school-based weapon carrying in the last decade and a modest increase in school-based physical violence since 2009 [14]. Consistent with Social Learning Theory, environmental and personal influences are important predictors of youth behavior, with parental modeling behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and emotions playing important roles [31, 32]. Risk factors for behaviors such as physical fighting, weapon carrying and gang membership among youth include the availability of firearms, child maltreatment, low parent supervision, exposure to violence, emotional and behavioral problems and alcohol or drug use [13, 33–35]. Each of these factors disproportionately affect military families [6, 16–21, 25–30]. The current study examines associations of parental military service with school-based weapon carrying, school-based physical violence and gang membership among youth. Our focus on school-based behaviors will help clinicians, teachers, counselors, administrators and

123

others who spend significant time with students to recognize and intervene quickly with youth engaging in highrisk behaviors. By identifying specific subgroups at-risk, our results can also inform interventions by military, school-based, and public health professionals to promote healthy adjustment and development and to better serve military-connected youth. Given the prevalence of risk factors including the availability of firearms, child maltreatment, low parent supervision, exposure to violence, emotional and behavioral problems and alcohol or drug use among youth in military families [6, 13, 16–21, 25–30, 33–35], we expect this population of youth to be at higher risk for these violence-related behaviors than their counterparts in civilian families.

Methods In this cross-sectional cohort study, data were derived from the Washington State 2008 Healthy Youth Survey (HYS), Form B. Since 2002, the HYS has been administered in English to youth in Washington State classrooms in October of every other year. For state-level data, the HYS uses a clustered sampling design in which public schools are randomly selected, with three separate samples, one each for grades 6, 8 and 10/12 combined. After randomization participation is voluntary for schools and students. Before the survey is administered, students are informed that their answers are anonymous. The study used publicly available data and the Washington State Institutional Review Board determined it exempt from the requirement for protocol approval. With the high prevalence of military families and bases in Washington State, the HYS offers a unique opportunity for the current study [36]. The response rates for 8th, 10th and 12th grades were 77, 60 and 50 %, respectively [37]. Sample The 2008 HYS includes n = 10,606 observations. Students were excluded from the study sample if they had missing data for the primary independent variable (6 %) or for the individual outcomes of interest. For the three study outcomes, the analysis sample sizes were 9,957 (school-based physical fighting), 9,987 (school-based weapon carrying) and 9,952 (gang membership). Variables Independent Variable The primary independent variable was parental military service in the 6 years prior to the survey (a time period that

Matern Child Health J

incorporates both current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan), derived from questions first asked of students in the 2008 HYS: ‘‘In the past 6 years, was your military parent or guardian sent to Iraq, Afghanistan, or other combat zone?’’ Response options were ‘‘no,’’ ‘‘yes,’’ and ‘‘I do not have a parent in the military.’’ Parental military service was categorized as civilian (reference group), military service without combat zone deployment, or military service deployed to a combat zone. Dependent Variables Three self-reported outcomes were examined: (1) schoolbased physical fighting measured with the question, ‘‘During the past 12 months, how many times were you: in a physical fight on school property?’’ (1 or more times, 0 times = reference); (2) school-based weapon carrying measured with the question, ‘‘During the past 30 days, on how many days did you: carry a weapon such as a gun, knife, or club on school property?’’ (1or more days, 0 times = reference); and (3) gang membership derived from the question ‘‘During the past 12 months, have you been a member of a gang?’’ (yes, no = reference) [38]. Covariates All regression models were adjusted for covariates that might confound relationships between parental military service and the three outcomes including: gender (female, male = reference), grade (8th grade, 10th/12th grade = reference), race/ ethnicity (White, non-Hispanic = reference, Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, Other/unknown) and maternal education ([12 years =reference; B12 years). Violent behaviors in youth are associated with low academic achievement [39], alcohol and drug use [40, 41] and high media exposure [42–44]. Therefore, all models included these variables. Self-reported academic achievement was categorized as high (grades mostly As/Bs = reference) or low (mostly Cs, Ds and Fs). Binge drinking (any, none = reference) was measured with the question ‘‘Think back over the last 2 weeks. How many times have you had five or more drinks in a row? (A drink is a glass of wine, a bottle of beer, a shot of liquor or a mixed drink).’’ Drug use was measured as a self-reported frequency greater than 0 for any of the following questions: ‘‘During the past 30 days, on how many days did you: Use marijuana or hashish (grass, hash, pot)?’’ and ‘‘During the past 30 days, on how many days did you: not counting alcohol, tobacco or marijuana, use another illegal drug?’’ Media exposure was measured with the questions ‘‘On an average school day, how many hours do you watch TV, including videos and DVDs?’’ and ‘‘On an average school day, how many hours do you play video games or use a computer for fun?

(Include activities such as Nintendo, Game Boy, Play Station, computer games, and the Internet).’’ [38] Both media variables were categorized as 4 or more hours or 0–3 h (reference). Most covariates had \1 % missing and were imputed with the sample mean or mode. For academic achievement (missing, n = 711, 7 %) and maternal education (unknown/missing, n = 2,275, 22 %), separate categories were created for unknown/missing data. Missing race/ethnicity was included in the ‘‘Other’’ category (n = 85, \1 %). Statistical Analysis All analysis was conducted with Stata, IC Version 11.2 (College Station, TX). Oneway analysis of variance, with Bonferroni p value adjustments for multiple comparisons was used to compare the distribution of all covariates by parents’ military service. Multivariable logistic regression was used to test associations between parents’ military service and the three outcomes. Partial f-tests were used to test effect modification of associations between parents’ military service and each outcome by gender, grade, and maternal education. If significant, stratified models were reported. To account for the complex survey design and make inferences to the state-wide population of youth, in all analyses we applied HYS survey weights and Stata survey routines based on a variance estimator that uses a first order Taylor approximation of the point estimator of interest.

Results Significant effect modification was found by grade (8th vs. 10th/12th) and gender; therefore, all findings were stratified accordingly. Characteristics of the survey respondents were summarized by parents’ military service (Table 1). Among girls and boys in 8th grade, students with civilian parents were more likely than students with military parents to be white, non-Hispanic and to report higher academic achievement. No significant differences in maternal education, drug use, or time watching television by parents’ military service were observed. Eighth grade girls and boys with deployed parents were more likely to report binge drinking and, among boys alone, students with deployed parents were more likely to report 4 h or more per day playing video games. Similar patterns were noted in 10th/12th grade students with higher proportions reporting white, non-Hispanic race/ethnicity and better grades among civilian parents compared to students with military and deployed parents. Youth with military and deployed parents were more likely

123

Matern Child Health J Table 1 Characteristics of adolescents in WA State HYS by parental military service, 2008 (N = 9,987) Female

8th grade (N = 2,088) Civilian

10th/12th grades (N = 3,134)

N = 1,755 %

Military (not deployed) N = 211 %

Military (deployed) N = 122 %

White non-Hispanic

58a

46a

Black non-Hispanic

a,b

a

Total

Civilian N = 2,671 %

Military (not deployed) N = 341 %

Military (deployed) N = 122 %

49

66a

56a

61

b

a,b

8a

8b

Race/ethnicity 3

8

7

3

Hispanic

9

12

9

11

8

7

Other

30

34

35

20a

28a

24

Grade 8th

100

100

100







10th







55a

47a,c

61c

12th







45a

53a,c

39c

B12 years education

30

34

27

37

37

35

Missing

22

25

25

12

13

14

18a 2

29a 2

27 0

26a,b 1

34a 1

37b 2

9b

9

16b

18a,b

29a

29b

7

11

10

19a,b

26a

31b

13

14

16

11a

17a

15

8

7

12

6a,b

10a

16b

Maternal education

Poor academic achievement Mostly Cs, Ds and Fs Missing Binge drinking Past 2 weeks Drug use Past 30 days TV watching 4 h or more per day Video game playing 4 h or more per day Male

8th grade (N = 1,969) Civilian

10th/12th grades (N = 2,796)

N = 1,532 %

Military (not deployed) N = 277 %

Military (deployed) N = 160 %

White non-Hispanic

58a,b

45a

Black non-Hispanic

4b

6

Total

Civilian N = 2,265 %

Military (not deployed) N = 381 %

Military (deployed) N = 150 %

44b

65a,b

53a

55b

10b

4a,b

9a

12b

Race/ethnicity

Hispanic

9

10

8

11

Other

29a,b

39a

38b

20

a

15

a

23

11 22

Grade 8th

100

100

100







10th







55

51c

63c

12th







45

49c

37c

28

31

28

35b

36

45b

Missing 25 Poor academic achievement

27

28

13

15

9

Maternal education B12 years education

Mostly Cs, Ds and Fs

27a

37a

35

35a,b

43a

52b

Missing

2

2

3

2

2

1

123

Matern Child Health J Table 1 continued Male

8th grade (N = 1,969) Civilian

Total

10th/12th grades (N = 2,796) Military (deployed) N = 160 %

Civilian

N = 1,532 %

Military (not deployed) N = 277 %

N = 2,265 %

Military (not deployed) N = 381 %

Military (deployed) N = 150 %

8b

10

14b

23a,b

33a

33b

10

12

13

22a,b

32a

37b

13

18

19

16b

18

25b

13b

15

21b

16

12c

22c

Binge drinking Past 2 weeks Drug use Past 30 days TV watching 4 h or more per day Video game playing 4 h or more per day

All association were adjusted for multiple comparisons with Bonferroni correction a

Association between civilian and military significant p \ .05

b

Association between civilian and deployed significant p \ .05

c

Association between military and deployed significant p \ .05

to engage in binge drinking or drug use; however, the proportion reporting these risk behaviors was similar for youth with military parents and parents deployed to a combat zone. Compared to youth with civilian parents, a greater proportion with military and deployed parents played video games and watched television for at least four hours per day. For girls, these proportions were significant for television watching between students with civilian and military parents (11 and 17 %) and for video games between girls with civilian parents (6 %) compared to military and deployed parents (10 and 16 %, respectively). For boys, the proportions were significant for television watching between students with civilian and deployed parents (16 vs. 25 %) and for video games between boys with military and deployed parents (12 vs. 22 %). In unadjusted estimates (Table 2), the prevalence of weapon carrying, physical fighting, and gang membership was generally lowest among youth with civilian parents, slightly higher among youth with parents in the military but not deployed and, for most outcomes, highest among youth with parents deployed to combat zones. In the adjusted logistic regression models (Table 3), 8th grade girls with military parents had higher odds of reporting gang membership (OR = 1.79; 95 % CI 1.05–3.05) compared to girls with civilian parents. Eighth grade boys with deployed versus civilian parents had higher odds of physical fighting (OR = 1.57, 95 % CI 1.00–2.47) and gang membership (OR = 1.87, 95 % CI 1.17–2.98). Tenth/twelfth grade girls with military parents had higher odds of weapon carrying (OR 2.03, 95 % CI 1.15–3.59), physical fighting (OR 2.16, 95 % CI 1.15–2.85) and gang membership (OR 1.90, 95 % CI 1.24–2.90) compared to

girls with civilian parents. Girls in 10th/12th grade with deployed parents had higher odds physical fighting (OR 1.99, 95 % CI 1.09–3.65) and gang membership (OR 2.20, 95 % CI 1.12–4.35) compared to girls with civilian parents. Similarly, boys in 10th/12th grade with military parents had had higher odds of physical fighting (OR 1.38, 95 % CI 1.02–1.85) compared to boys with civilian parents. Boys in 10th/12th grade with deployed parents had higher odds of weapon carrying (OR 2.27, 95 % CI 1.48–3.47) and physical fighting (OR 2.01, 95 % CI 1.39–2.90) compared to boys with civilian parents.

Discussion In a large, population-based Washington State sample of youth, we found significant associations between parents’ military service and school-based weapon carrying, schoolbased physical violence and gang membership among adolescent boys and girls. Most notable is the consistency of the magnitude and direction of the associations we examined—girls, boys, and both younger and older youth in military families—are at risk for these behaviors. These findings underscore the need for violence prevention interventions for families and youth of both sexes beginning before eighth grade. One such intervention, Families Over Coming Under Stress (FOCUS)—a trauma-informed, strengths-based skills training demonstrated improved family functioning by addressing both risk and resilience factors among military families [45]. Adaptations of FOCUS with evaluation of the intervention are underway in specific at risk sub-groups within military families

123

Matern Child Health J Table 2 Stratified unadjusted adolescent measures of weapon carrying, physical fighting and gang membership by parental military service: Washington State, Health Youth Survey, 2008 8th grade School-based Total

Weapon carrying (N = 2,088) %

Physical fighting (N = 2,079) %

Gang membership (N = 2,080) %

3a,b

10a,b

6a,b

a,c

a,c

12a,c

b,c

10b,c

Female Civilian parent Military parent (not deployed) Military parent (deployed)

4 6

12

b,c

Total

16 (N = 1,969) %

(n = 1,963) %

(N = 1,959) %

5

19a,b

9b

Male Civilian parent Military parent (not deployed)

8

Military parent (deployed)

a

10c

b

19b,c

26

8

31

10th/12th grades School-based Total

Weapon carrying (N = 3,134) %

Physical fighting (N = 3,125) %

Gang membership (N = 3,131) %

3a

6a,b

3a,b

a

a

8a

b

10b

Female Civilian parent Military parent (not deployed) Military parent (deployed) Total

6

12

6

14 (N = 2,796) %

(n = 2,790) %

(N = 2,782) %

9b

12a,b

9a,b

a,c

14a

b,c

20b

Male Civilian parent Military parent (not deployed) Military parent (deployed)

c

11

19

b,c

22

28

All association were adjusted for multiple comparisons with Bonferroni correction a

Association between civilian and military significant p \ .05

b

Association between civilian and deployed significant p \ .05

c

Association between military and deployed significant p \ .05

including single parents, families with younger children and families with youth. Future research is needed to determine how best to target and disseminate such interventions as parents and youth in military families continue to adjust to combat injuries [45]. We found few prior studies that examined health outcomes associated with parental deployment to OEF/OIF and no prior studies examining school-based risks such as weapon carrying and physical violence or gang membership with youth from military families. Even still, our findings are consistent with work from prior wars reporting

123

behavioral problems among youth with military parents [13, 23, 28]. Our findings are also consistent with studies that reported higher rates of other violence-related outcomes—such as child maltreatment [19, 20] and intimate partner violence [5, 6, 28]—in families with active duty and veteran parents. Exposure to stressors unique to youth of deployed military parents may lead to the high-risk behaviors we examined. Many studies document the impact of adverse experiences like abuse, neglect and family dysfunction and the link to violence perpetration in youth [46]. Another

(0.92–1.76)

(0.69–2.00) 1.57* (1.00–2.47)

0.86 (0.39–1.94)

(1.17–2.98)

(1.48–3.47)

(0.74–1.59) 2.27**,a

(0.53–1.44)

1.08a

1.87**,a



0.88a

(N = 2,796)

(0.77–3.51)

1.64

(1.15–3.59)

2.03*



Weapon carrying OR (95 % CI) (N = 3,134)



(N = 1,959)

(0.67–2.63)

1.33

(1.05–3.05)

1.79*



Gang membership OR (95 % CI) (N = 2,080)

a

Difference between military and deployed significant at p \ .05

* p \ .05; ** p \ .01

CI confidence interval, OR odds ratio

10th/12th grades

(1.39–2.90)

2.01**

(1.02–1.85)

1.38*



(n = 2,790)

(1.09–3.65)

1.99*

(1.15–2.85)

2.16**



Physical fighting OR (95 % CI) (N = 3,125)

School-based

All estimates were adjusted for race/ethnicity, grade, maternal education, academic achievement, binge drinking, drug use, media use

Military parent (deployed)

1.27

1.18

Military parent (not deployed)





Male Civilian parent

(N = 1,963)

(N = 1,969)

Total

(0.65–2.58)

(0.78–3.43)

(0.60–1.55) 1.29

(0.64–2.75) 1.62

1.32

Military parent (deployed)

0.96



Military parent (not deployed)



Physical fighting OR (95 % CI) (N = 2,079)

Civilian parent

Female

Total

Weapon carrying OR (95 % CI) (N = 2,088)

School-based

8th grade

(0.95–2.33)

1.49

(0.80–1.49)

1.09



(N = 2,782)

(1.12–4.35)

2.20*

(1.24–2.90)

1.90**



Gang membership OR (95 % CI) (N = 3,131)

Table 3 Associations between parental military service and adolescent weapon carrying, physical fighting and gang membership stratified by gender and grade: Washington State, Health Youth Survey, 2008

Matern Child Health J

123

Matern Child Health J

plausible explanation for our findings is greater access to weapons among youth in military families. Evidence suggests that service members are more likely to have a firearm in their home compared to civilians [47]. Because of their parents’ deployment, youth from military families may also be disproportionately influenced by portrayals of war and the military in popular media, which emphasizes weapons and physical fighting. Parental deployment may also mean less in-home supervision leading to greater exposure to violent media and increased risk for aggression and gang membership [34, 42]. As well, some research suggests that students who are marginalized, have low academic performance or have been rejected by peers are at an increased risk for problem behaviors and gang membership [39]. Gang members and their dependents have been reported in every branch of the US military, with military gang activity on the rise [48–50]. Gang membership among military children may provide social reinforcement and continuity between relocations [50]. Some of the violence-related outcomes were significant in some of the gender/grade subgroups we examined but not in others. For instance, the odds of gang membership were significantly higher for 8th grade boys and girls and for 10th/12th grade girls in military families but were not significant for boys in 10th/12th grade. Very little evidence is available in the literature to help us understand these differences underscoring the need for future populationbased studies in other samples. Family structure and, in particular, single-parent households have been documented as more salient risk factors for gang membership among girls than among boys [34]. Another possible explanation is over-reporting of gang membership among younger youth in military families arising from a desire to fit in with other youth or to appear connected with this behavior. The strengths of this study include the population-based sample with a large proportion of youth with parents who served in the military. Our data identified parental military service and further distinguished between soldiers with and without combat deployment. In 2008, Washington had the sixth largest active duty population, with 60,445 members [36]. National data indicate that 38 % of active duty soldiers are married and have children [36]. These findings may be generalizable to other states with populations of active duty, National Guard, and reserve personnel comparable to Washington. Our results must be interpreted in light of our study’s limitations. First, our data are cross-sectional and cannot be used to infer causation. While little, if any, evidence is in the literature to support reverse causation our findings may be influenced by selection bias insofar as youth with military parents differ systematically from youth with civilian parents in terms of unobserved variables we could not measure. Second, the data were self-reported. Possibly,

123

some youth are compelled to boast about risky behaviors leading to over-reporting. Conversely, youth may underreport risky behaviors if they fear adverse consequences. Either way, we have no reason to believe that systematic differences in reporting of the outcomes we examined exist according to parents’ military status, although ultimately this difference is not known. Third, youth may under-report parental combat status insofar as parents shield their children from this knowledge. In this case, our reported estimates are conservative. Fourth, we were unable to control for several variables that might confound the associations, including the timing, duration, or frequency of deployment; family structure during deployment; whether the father, mother, or both were deployed; whether the parent survived; type of military service; and deployment experience. Even still, our measure of military service was more refined than the simple, binary measure typically reported in prior work. Fifth, the outcomes were measured at the time of the survey, whereas parental military status included the 6-year period prior to the survey. Despite this difference in temporal sequencing, significant associations were apparent, suggesting that the effects of deployment and reintegration issues may not resolve immediately. Sixth, our data were limited to student-level variables and we were unable to address potentially confounding variables at the school- or district-level such as social norms toward carrying weapons, area-level socioeconomic status and distance from military bases. Seventh, unmeasured confounding by socioeconomic status could have possibly influenced our findings. Although maternal education, the only SES variable for which data are available in the HYS, is a robust measure of SES, [37] it may not capture broader facets of SES such as income, wealth, and parents’ occupation. Furthermore, maternal education data were missing for 22 % of our sample. Finally, some of the variables in our models, including academic achievement, alcohol/drug use, and television watching could be in the causal pathway between parental military status and the outcomes we examined. In this case, the estimates we present are conservative and may underestimate the underlying associations. Even with these limitations, our findings provide important new information about the effects of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on young people and highlight the need to focus on youth in military families.

Conclusion While military families continue to be resilient and adaptive despite multiple stressors, youth are at risk for the outcomes we examined. Future research using populationbased samples with prospective data collection is recommended to try to better understand and disentangle the

Matern Child Health J

short- and long-term effects of parental military service. Military, school, and public health professionals have a unique, collaborative opportunity to develop school- and community-based interventions to prevent violence-related behaviors among youth and, ultimately, improve the health and safety of youth in military families. Ideally, such programs would target families and youth before they enter eighth grade.

References 1. US Department of Defense. (2008). Contingency Tracking System Deployment File. Washington, DC: US Department of Defense. 2. Hoge, C. W., Castro, C. A., Messer, S. C., McGurk, D., Cotting, D. I., & Koffman, R. L. (2004). Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems, and barriers to care. New England Journal of Medicine, 351(1), 13–22. 3. Tanielian, T., & Jaycox, L. H. (2008). Invisible wounds of war: Psychological and cognitive injuries, their consequences, and services to assist recovery. Santa Monica, California: RAND Corporation. 4. Chandra, A., Burns, R. M., Tanielian, T., & Jaycox, L. H. (2011). Understanding the deployment experience for children and youth from military families. In S. Wadsworth & D. Riggs (Eds.), Risk and resilience in US military families (pp. 175–192). New York: Springer. 5. Jordan, B. K., Marmar, C. R., Fairbank, J. A., et al. (1992). Problems in families of male Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60(6), 916–926. 6. Teten, A. L., Schumacher, J. A., Taft, C. T., et al. (2010). Intimate partner aggression perpetrated and sustained by male Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(9), 1612–1630. 7. Riggs, D. S., Byrne, C. A., Weathers, F. W., & Litz, B. T. (1998). The quality of the intimate relationships of male Vietnam veterans: Problems associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11(1), 87–101. 8. Byrne, C. A., & Riggs, D. S. (1996). The cycle of trauma; relationship aggression in male Vietnam veterans with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Violence and Victims, 11(3), 213–225. 9. Herzog, J. R., Everson, R. B., & Whitworth, J. D. (2011). Do secondary trauma symptoms in spouses of combat-exposed National Guard soldiers mediate impacts of soldiers’ trauma exposure on their children? Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 28(6), 459–473. 10. Milliken, C. S., Auchterlonie, J. L., & Hoge, C. W. (2007). Longitudinal assessment of mental health problems among active and reserve component soldiers returning from the Iraq war. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 298(18), 2141–2148. 11. Fitzsimons, V. M., & Krause-Parello, C. A. (2009). Military children: When parents are deployed overseas. The Journal of School Nursing, 25(1), 40–47. 12. Mmari, K., Roche, K. M., Sudhinaraset, M., & Blum, R. (2009). When a parent goes off to war: Exploring the issues faced by adolescents and their families. Youth and Society, 40(4), 455–475.

13. Chandra, A., Martin, L. T., Hawkins, S. A., & Richardson, A. (2010). The impact of parental deployment on child social and emotional functioning: Perspectives of school staff. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(3), 218–223. 14. Eaton, D. K., Kann, L., Kinchen, S., et al. (2012). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2011. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 61(4), 1–162. 15. Margolin, G., & Vickerman, K. A. (2007). Post-traumatic stress in children and adolescents exposed to family violence: I. Overview and issues. Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 38(6), 613–619. 16. Kelley, M. L. (1994). Military-induced separation in relation to maternal adjustment and children’s behaviors. Military Psychology, 6(3), 163–176. 17. Jensen, P. S., Martin, D., & Watanabe, H. (1996). Children’s response to parental separation during Operation Desert Storm. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(4), 433–441. 18. Ryan-Wenger, N. A. (2001). Impact of the threat of war on children in military families. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 71(2), 236–244. 19. Gibbs, D. A., Martin, S. L., Kupper, L. L., & Johnson, R. E. (2007). Child maltreatment in enlisted soldiers’ families during combat-related deployments. JAMA: The Journal of American Medical Association, 298(5), 528–535. 20. Rentz, E. D., Marshall, S. W., Loomis, D., Casteel, C., Martin, S. L., & Gibbs, D. A. (2007). Effect of deployment on the occurrence of child maltreatment in military and nonmilitary families. American Journal of Epidemiology, 165(10), 1199–1206. 21. Young, R. S., Gillan, E., Dingmann, P., Casinelli, P., & Taylor, C. (2008). Army health care operations in Iraq. Connecticut Medicine, 72(1), 13–17. 22. Mansfield, A. J., Kaufman, J. S., Engel, C. C., Gaynes, B. N. (2011). Deployment and mental health diagnoses among children of US Army personnel. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 165(11), 999–1005. 23. Chandra, A., Lara-Cinisomo, S., Jaycox, L. H., et al. (2010). Children on the homefront: The experience of children from military families. Pediatrics, 125(1), 16–25. 24. Reed, S. C., Bell, J. F., & Edwards, T. C. (2011). Adolescent well-being in Washington state military families. American Journal of Public Health, 101(9), 1676–1682. 25. Rentz, E. D., Martin, S. L., Gibbs, D. A., Clinton-Sherrod, M., Hardison, J., & Marshall, S. W. (2006). Family violence in the military: A review of the literature. Trauma Violence and Abuse, 7(2), 93–108. 26. Cronin, C. (1995). Adolescent reports of parental spousal violence in military and civilian families. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10(1), 117–122. 27. Beckham, J. C., Braxton, L. E., Kudler, H. S., Feldman, M. E., Lytle, B. L., & Palmer, S. (1997). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory profiles of Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder and their children. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53(8), 847–852. 28. Glenn, D. M., Beckham, J. C., Feldman, M. E., Kirby, A. C., Hertzberg, M. A., & Moore, S. D. (2002). Violence and hostility among families of Vietnam veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Violence and Victims, 17(4), 473–489. 29. Harkness, L., & Giller, E. (1995). Families of Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: Child social competence and behavior. In D. Rhoades, M. Leaveck, & J. Hudson (Eds.), The legacy of Vietnam veterans and their families: Survivors of war: Catalysts for change (pp. 360–371). Washington, DC: Agent Orange Class Assistance Program. 30. Rosenheck, R., & Fontana, A. (1998). Transgenerational effects of abusive violence on the children of Vietnam combat veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11(4), 731–742.

123

Matern Child Health J 31. Akers, R. L. (2009). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. 32. Lee, G., Akers, R. L., & Borg, M. J. (2004). Social learning and structural factors in adolescent substance use. Western Criminology Review, 5(1), 17–34. 33. Lyle, D. S. (2006). Using military deployments and job assignments to estimate the effect of parental absences and household relocations on children’s academic achievement. Journal of Labor Economics, 24(2), 319–350. 34. Hill, K. G., Howell, J. C., Hawkins, J. D., & Battin-Pearson, S. R. (1999). Childhood risk factors for adolescent gang membership: Results from the Seattle Social Development Project. Journal of Research Crime and Delinquency, 36(3), 300–322. 35. Howell, J. C., & Egley, A. (2005). Moving risk factors into developmental theories of gang membership. Youth Violence Juvenile Justice, 3(4), 334–354. 36. US Department of Defense. (2008). Demographics: Profile of the Military Community. Washington, DC: US Department of Defense. 37. Richardson, R., Pilkey, D., & Bensley, L. (2010). Washington State Healthy Youth Survey, Data Analysis And Technical Assistance Manual. Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Health. 38. Washington State Department of Health. (2008). Healthy Youth Survey, Form B. Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Health. 39. Dishion, T. J., Veronneau, M. H., & Myers, M. W. (2010). Cascading peer dynamics underlying the progression from problem behavior to violence in early to late adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 22(3), 603–619. 40. Rudatsikira, E., Muula, A. S., & Siziya, S. (2008). Variables associated with physical fighting among US high-school students. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 4, 16. 41. Muula, A. S., Rudatsikira, E., & Siziya, S. (2008). Correlates of weapon carrying among high school students in the United States. Annals of General Psychiatry, 7, 8.

123

42. Boxer, P., Huesmann, L. R., Bushman, B. J., O’Brien, M., & Moceri, D. (2009). The role of violent media preference in cumulative developmental risk for violence and general aggression. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(3), 417–428. 43. Browne, K. D., & Hamilton-Giachritsis, C. (2005). The influence of violent media on children and adolescents: A public-health approach. Lancet, 365(9460), 702–710. 44. Robinson, T. N., Wilde, M. L., Navracruz, L. C., Haydel, K. F., & Varady, A. (2001). Effects of reducing children’s television and video game use on aggressive behavior: A randomized controlled trial. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 155(1), 17–23. 45. Saltzman, W. R., Pynoos, R. S., Lester, P., Layne, C. M., Beardslee, W. R. (2013). Enhancing family resilience through family narrative co-construction. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 16(3), 294–310. 46. Duke, N. N., Pettingell, S. L., McMorris, B. J., & Borowsky, I. W. (2010). Adolescent violence perpetration: Associations with multiple types of adverse childhood experiences. Pediatrics, 125(4), e778–e786. 47. Forbis, S. G., McAllister, T. R., Monk, S. M., Schlorman, C. A., Stolfi, A., & Pascoe, J. M. (2007). Children and firearms in the home: A Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network (SOAR-Net) study. The Journal of American Board of Family Medicine, 20(4), 385–391. 48. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2011). National Gang Threat Assessment-Emerging Trends. Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation. 49. Eyler, G. (2009). Gangs in the military. The Yale Law Journal, 118(4), 696–742. 50. Everson, R. B., & Figley, C. R. (2011). Families under fire: Systemic therapy with military families. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

Weapon carrying, physical fighting and gang membership among youth in Washington state military families.

To examine associations between parental military service and school-based weapon carrying, school-based physical fighting and gang membership among y...
219KB Sizes 0 Downloads 0 Views