Veterans Affairs department to study stress on military families

Sunday, July 08, 2007


Cell phones, e-mail and instant messaging help link deployed troops with home. But that communication system is a two-way street. "It brings the family along to war," said Tom Schumacher, a state Veterans Affairs official.

Communication is just one of the issues that can stress military families. Schumacher, director of the state's post-traumatic stress disorder counseling program, wants to learn how the war affects Washington families.

Researchers will work with others at the University of California, Los Angeles. The university sparked the Washington survey with its study of one military family.

"The family had three deployments," Schumacher said. "It was a very healthy family when they started; by the end of the third deployment, (family members) were pretty stressed out."

When the study expanded, the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs was able to take over a portion of the research. "It will be a survey of 100 National Guard families," he said. "We hope get 120 kids, from 6 to 12 years old."

Investigators are looking for families in which a parent has been deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. They also will look at families in which the Guard parent hasn't been deployed to serve as a control group.

Children can react to a parent's deployment in different ways, depending on age and level of development. Preschoolers may feel confused and may fear other changes in their lives. School-aged children may want more attention.

The survey is voluntary, but researchers will pay $20 for each family member who qualifies as a study subject. People interested in participating can call a scheduler at 1-800-867-6129.

Information also will be posted on the department's Web site through the menu's link to "war trauma counseling."

"I'm calling this a 'needs' study, to see what needs are of National Guard families," Schumacher said. "It will help plan programs in the future. Perhaps we need to bring on specialized providers."

In Phase 2 of the study, UCLA researchers will look at active-duty military families.


Source: The Columbian, Serving Clark County, Washington - By Tom Vogt