April is designated the “Month of the Military Child,” with many events and activities scheduled to honor the occasion.
A new study from the University of Iowa indicates that children whose parents are deployed have higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse–another reminder of the massive hidden costs associated with U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Science Daily reported on the new study last week.
Using data from a statewide survey of sixth, eighth, and 11th-grade students in Iowa, the researchers found an increase in 30-day alcohol use, binge drinking, using marijuana and other illegal drugs, and misusing prescription drugs among children of deployed or recently returned military parents compared to children in nonmilitary families. The increased risk was consistent across all age groups. The findings are published online in the journal Addiction. […]
Arndt and colleagues at the Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation and the UI Injury Prevention Research Center, examined data from the 2010 Iowa Youth Survey (IYS) to investigate whether military deployment of a parent was associated with children’s substance use.
The survey, developed by the consortium in 1999, is administered by the state and conducted every two years. Participating students answer questions online about attitudes and experiences with alcohol, drugs, and violence, as well as students’ perceptions of their peers, family, school, and community. Of all sixth-, eighth-, and 11th-grade students enrolled in Iowa schools in 2010, 69 percent (78,240 students) completed the IYS.
That last sentence is important: this study isn’t drawing broad conclusions from a small sample that may or may not be representative. The researchers studied data from more than two-thirds of all enrolled Iowa students at the various grade levels.
The risk of binge drinking or illegal drug use was measurably higher for children of deployed parents, but especially for those who were not living with another parent or relative during the deployment. The researchers noted the need for schools and communities to provide extra support to families with a deployed parent. I recommend clicking through to read the whole article.
Not every teenager will experience long-term damage from binge drinking and drug use, but some will find their future permanently altered (not in a good way) by addiction or other irreversible life experiences.
To my knowledge, previous cost accountings of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have focused on lifelong health care needs of veterans but not on health problems suffered at higher rates by minor children of deployed personnel.