Military teens, although part of the unique military culture, spend most of their time in the local community. They look within the community for friendship and support. Military teens like getting to know new people and places, but due to the military lifestyle, they move frequently. This is one of the toughest things about military life especially for teens. Changing schools and leaving friends behind can pose risks of isolation and affect a teen's grades and extracurricular activities.
Military Teens strive for a sense of belonging and normalcy. They want to fit in, make friends and have fun. Balancing their adolescence and taking on extra responsibility is common theme for a military teen. When military parents go away to serve, many household responsibilities fall to the caregiver and subsequently the youth at home. Military youth have expressed pride about gaining this independence when they've had to increase their load, but it's easy for these responsibilities to become overwhelming. They will miss a parent for several reasons and the absences can stifle their own emotional needs. In addition, special occasions such as birthdays, graduations, holidays, family vacations can occur when a parent is deployed, on temporary duty, training or other necessary separations (such as finishing a school year) often occur without the service member parent present.
Studies find that rates of anxiety among military children - especially teens - as well as emotional and behavioral difficulties - are higher than the national averages, and that longer periods of parental deployment exacerbated these challenges.
Current research also finds children in military families are more likely to experiment with alcohol or drugs during times of transition.
The Facts:
1. According to a 2010 study - More than two million American children have had a parent deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. At least 19,000 children have had a parent wounded in action. Over 2,200 children have lost a parent in Iraq or Afghanistan.
2. Nearly 85% of military teens attend public schools instead of Department of Defense schools. Only about 35% of active duty military families even live in military housing.
3. Military children will say goodbye to more significant people by age 18 than the average person during a lifetime.
4. In a 2005 survey, military teens showed they had moved five times on average.
5. Military teenagers have lived in five states and two foreign countries before their 16th birthday.
6. In another study by researchers at the University of Southern California School of Social Work published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that
7. Multiple deployments were linked to a 14% increase in the chance of developing a lifelong drug abuse problem.
8. Multiple deployments were also linked to an 18% increased risk that the teen had used drugs or alcohol recently.
9. Adolescents and teens in 5th grade through their junior year in high school were more likely to have a drug or alcohol abuse issue if their sibling was enlisted than if their parent was the enlisted family member.
Why is USO-Metro poised to make a difference here?
In a USO-Metro Needs Assessment survey conducted in 2011, 13.7% of respondents wanted to participate in more programs for teens (age 13-18). Based on this information, USO-Metro started new programs for this audience and has established a proven track record with favorable participation and responses by both teenagers and their parents. In addition, our military leaders express this is an area where they are struggling to connect and with sequestration, the drawdown and cuts in military spending, essential services that would have addressed these issues are limited.
