Adolescents in military families: the relationship between stress, resilience and coping

Abstract

Much research on adolescents in military families has taken a deficit approach—that is, it has portrayed these adolescents as a population susceptible to psychological damage from the hardships of military life, such as frequent moves and separation from their parents during deployment. However more recent studies, taking a less deficit approach, appear to show some adolescents cope well, and effectively manage these challenges. There appears to be a limited knowledge around this population and therefore to better serve these adolescents, we must understand the sources of strength that help them cope with adversity and thrive, in other words, their resilience.

On this basis, the empirical study investigated the relationship between perceived stress (both general stress and specific military stress) and coping and the relative influence of resilience, in adolescents from military families. A significant relationship between perceived stress and coping existed and this was moderated by high relationship to caregiver resilience. Additionally, a significant relationship between military stress and coping existed, and this was moderated by high individual resilience and low context resilience. The findings suggest that resilience is playing an important part influencing the way adolescents cope with both general and military stressors. The present study is the first to explore the relationship between perceived stress, resilience and coping with adolescents from military families in the United Kingdom. Further research is essential in order to fully understand the role of resilience and the potential benefit of promoting and enhancing resilience and coping to manage the unique military stressors placed upon them.

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