The Deployment Life Study: Methodological Overview and Baseline Sample Description

Abstract

In the past decade, U.S. military families have experienced increased deployment tempo as U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines have been deployed to hostile territory for extended and repeated durations. Therefore, policymakers and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) leadership have placed an emphasis on family readiness for deployment and other military-related stressors. However, family readiness is not a well-understood construct. In March 2009, the U.S. Army Surgeon General asked the RAND Corporation to design and conduct a longitudinal study of Army families to examine family readiness. The study would survey families at frequent intervals throughout a complete deployment cycle that is, before a service member deploys (sometimes months before), during the actual deployment, and after the service member returns (possibly a year or more after he or she has redeployed). It would assess outcomes over time, including the following: the emotional, behavioral, and physical health of family members, the quality of marital and parental relationships child well-being (e.g., school performance, social development), career outcomes (e.g., attitudes toward military service, retention intentions), and family financial well-being. In August 2009, the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) asked RAND to expand the study to include the other services: Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. This combined effort, called the Deployment Life Study, uses a single design and the same survey instruments (modified only slightly to make them service and component appropriate), thus allowing for potential comparisons across services and components (active and reserve).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2014
Accession Number
ADA599346

Entities

People

  • Anita Chandra
  • Benjamin R. Karney
  • Sarah O. Meadows
  • Terri Tanielian

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Brain Injuries
  • Business Administration
  • Employment
  • Health Services
  • Human Behavior
  • Iraqi-War
  • Management Personnel
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Disorders
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychology
  • Recreation
  • Social Psychology
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Organizational Psychology.
  • Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Care for Military Service Members and Veterans with Limb Loss or Disability.