Reference:
Flittner O’Grady, A., Burton, E. T., Chawla, N., Topp, D., & MacDermid Wadsworth, S. M. (2015). Evaluation of a multimedia intervention for children and families facing multiple military deployments. Journal of Primary Prevention, 1-18. doi: 10.1007/s10935-015-0410-7
Summary:
Repeated military deployments have been a common experience for many military families in the past 15 years. More than one million children in the U.S. have experienced the deployment of military parents to Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom. These conflicts are different from past military conflicts because the deployments were longer and more frequent, often with less time at home between deployments.
Even one deployment of a parent can cause emotional and behavioral problems for children. Multiple deployments can make problems worse. There are programs to help military families cope, but these can be hard to access and use. This study evaluated the impact of Talk, Listen, Connect: Multiple Deployments (TLC-II MD), a multimedia kit created by Sesame Workshop specifically for military families experiencing multiple deployments.
When compared to a control multimedia kit created without a focus on military families, TLC- IIMD, was significantly more likely to be perceived as helpful. In addition:
- Parents in both control and test groups reported that their children enjoyed the video and watched it often.
- In both groups, caregivers’ depressive symptoms and children’s aggressive behaviors declined significantly over time.
- Caregivers in the test group reported larger increases in comfort talking about the deployment with their child. These guardians also had stronger opinions that the DVD helped children cope.