The effect of multiple deployments on military families: a cross sectional study of health and wellbeing of partners and children.

The effect of multiple deployments on military families: a cross sectional study of health and wellbeing of partners and children.

This study explored the impact of multiple deployments on the health and wellbeing of the partners (married or de facto) and children of Australian military personnel who have deployed frequently. Permission to contact military partners was sought from a sample of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members. Partners provided data on deployment history, physical health, mental health, and their children's emotions and behaviours. Associations between multiple deployments and health and wellbeing of partners and children were assessed using logistic regression. Data was collected from 1332 ADF partners (response rate 36%) with 1095 children aged between four and 17 years. Almost half (47%) of partners had experienced more than one deployment, mainly to Timor Leste, Iraq, and Afghanistan. There was little evidence of associations between numbers of deployments and the health of the partner. In contrast, more behavioural problems were reported for children who experienced two or more deployments with odds ratios generally greater than two and significant trends with increasing numbers of deployment. While military families who experience multiple deployments may, by selection, be more resilient than those who have fewer deployments, these results suggest that adverse impacts on the children may accrue with increasing parental absences due to deployment.

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