(Reuters Health) - Teens with parents or caregivers in the military may be more likely to drink, smoke, and carry weapons than other kids, a U.S. study suggests.
Researchers also found that adolescents with close ties to the military were more apt to be victims of physical violence and harassment.
“We believe this is partly due to ongoing stressors related to war, deployments, frequent moves, being bullied, and being involved in risky peer groups,” lead study author Kathrine Sullivan, a researcher in social work at the University of Southern California, said by email.
More than one million school-aged children currently have parents in the military, Sullivan and colleagues note in JAMA Pediatrics. Including families of veterans, there are four million U.S. children whose parents have served at some point since 2001.
For the current study, Sullivan’s team analyzed survey data collected in 2013 from nearly 690,000 California public school students in grades 7 through 11.
About 8 percent of the children surveyed had parents or caregivers in the military. Overall, slightly more than half were Latino, another 21 percent were white, and the group included roughly the same number of girls and boys.
Overall, more than half of the students reported experiencing violence or harassment, and approximately one in ten kids said they had brought a weapon to school.
Military kids, however, were more than twice as likely to carry guns on campus and 81 percent more likely to take knives to school. They also had higher odds of being threatened with a weapon.
Children with close ties to service members were also more likely to say they lived in fear of being beat up, and they reported higher exposure to harassment and cyber-bullying, the study found.
The picture for substance use also looked worse for military kids, who were 45 to 73 percent more likely than other children to use cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana, as well as abuse prescription drugs.
One shortcoming of the study is its lack of detail on socioeconomic status, which makes it difficult to know the extent to which poverty, family structure or other factors might have influenced students’ survey responses, the researchers acknowledge.
“Socioeconomic status is a major factor, and I think children from low-income, single parent households are in more need of extra support than other kids, whether or not they have a parent in the military,” Dr. Robert Frenck, a retired Navy pediatrician who currently practices at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
For military children in particular, deployment of a parent and living arrangements during this period may be one of the biggest factors influencing whether they engage in unhealthy behaviors, said Stephan Arndt, director of a research group on substance abuse at the University of Iowa.
“Children who can stay close to family members are still affected but seem to do better than those children who are living outside the family,” Arndt, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
Deployment can strain families through separation, leading to mental health problems and economic stress as well as impaired parenting skills that can put teens at greater risk, noted Suzannah Creech, a research psychologist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a professor at Brown University.
“We need to ask about military service across all levels of the education and healthcare systems to better identify families and teens who may be at risk and in need of intervention,” Creech, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “We also need to convey to parents that the health of the family environment is just as important as physical health.”
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.