Understanding the Impact of Deployment on Children and Families

Abstract:  Understanding how family members fare during and after servicemembers’ deployment is critical for assessing the need for programs to serve these families and to design them appropriately. In order to help
children with their parent’s deployment, the National Military Family Association (NMFA) developed Operation Purple Camp (OPC), a summer camp program that children with a deployed parent attend free of charge. In this pilot study, we surveyed families attending this camp to learn more about the experiences of deployment. In August 2007, we conducted baseline, self-administered written surveys with children attending OPC. We visited five camps in five states. The baseline survey was administered on-site before the start of camp activities with children and their home caregivers. This study offers critical information on the impact of deployment on the well-being of servicemembers’ children and families. Findings should be interpreted judiciously because it is a relatively small study and the sample is not representative of all military families who have had a family member deployed.