ABSTRACT

This chapter presents a review of the current research that has been conducted on school-aged children and adolescents of the military-connected population, a population that continues to be an afterthought among civilian and government policymakers. It highlights what is currently known about the effects of military wartime deployment separation and accompanying stressors on military-connected children between 0 and 5 years old. The chapter highlights current knowledge in terms of the challenges and potential intervention programs with the youngest and most vulnerable aged youth who also happen to be military connected and are faced with unique and extreme family stressors during times of war and separation. It also outlines three case scenarios with common elements, that is, the challenges associated with military deployment and reintegration and the responses of very young children and their parents along with potential interventions for human service providers.