Effects Of War Military Family
The recent involvement in war by many countries especially the Second World War and the subsequent wars in the middle and Far East have been of serious concern especially addressing their effects on the families of soldiers. Many human rights activists have come up to analyze the effects of War on the Military Families and try to find a long lasting solution. Evaluations of the effects of war on military families have been studied and the results are evident that the war brings more negative consequences to the family than the positive outcomes.
It’s reported that the children whose parents worked with the military have greater feelings of fear and worry that the parent may get injured in the war or even die. The individual families who live on the military camps appear to be the most affected by the effects of war as compared to those who lived outside the camp (Costello 1994). To most of the people, war is just a phenomenon that they experience through news, movies and history lessons.
In the United States of America, the numbers of military troops have increased over the years and the effects of great wars like the gulf war, Iraqi war, Afghanistan war and the terrorist attacks are far reaching to most of the population on the ground. The involvement of the country during somebody’s lifetime brings the effects of war even closer especially with the September 11th terrorist attack on the world trade center (Costello 1994).
The feelings of safety are to a great extent reduced in the American families and many family members and particularly the children are struggling to recover the sense of safety. War on terrorism has lead to recruitment of many military troops consequently exposing their family member to the dangers. Effects of war War comes with very negative effects and particularly to those families whose members are in the military.
There are; parental deaths – statistics show that a good number children (about 900) had lost their parents by the year 2005, as a consequent, the children could develop psychiatric disorders. Behavioral effects developed include; social withdrawal, absent minded, sleep disorders, poor performance in school and violence (Costello 1994) Physical changes include; fatigue, complaints, palpitations and breathlessness. The change in feelings include; anger, disgrace, fear, comforter and helplessness (Henderson 2006).
There is notable change in parenting styles and disruption of family and community structure as a result of bereavement. The War and Children Naturalistic studies conduced across the United States of America to asses the effects of war on military families revealed that most the children were greatly saddened by the images of television while some of the children were proud to be Americans as a result. The great concerns are the developmental and social concerns of the of the children affairs in the event of war.
A further research has been proposed since most of the previous studies were not explicit (Henderson 2006). Many children who are exposed to these types of troubles are more likely to experience mental health problems, somatic complaint, behavior problems, sleep disorders, and other related difficulties. Evaluating direct and indirect effects of war on the children it was found that the education of the military children was disrupted plus other public services that were related.
Some of the mental problems in the event of death of parents were long lasting and could last a life time hence affecting the physical growth problems and moral development as a whole. However research has explained how these problems could be reduced by having a secure parent child relationship or any other person of the family members. It has been ascertained that different people usually adapt to different strategies for dealing with the similar problem situation (Henderson 2006).
No children would respond to problems of war in the same way however most of the effects are generalized as negative war consequences. The family friends and family members themselves could initiate a problem solving means that would address the physical, emotional and behavioral problems of the children since they are the ones significantly hit by the effects of war. On the other hand, the schools can create programs that could assist in guiding and counseling students who are affected to treat moral, physical and behavioral evils.
The parents need to understand the effects of war on their children and should find means of addressing the issues or war and related topics. During the times of war, it’s obvious that the children would tend to look up to the adults for the moral support and affection. During this time children experience the real war situation of war tension as well as threat of violence. Fear of violence and intense tension are incapacitating factors to development as well (Henderson 2006). Children struggle so much to manage their experiences and supportive family members should be prepared to assist them in the process.
Therefore human right groups that are involved in protecting military families from the devastating effects of war can make up programs to educate the families concerned on how to talk to their children concerning the war and the possible consequences, and if the children are affected after parent’s death, therapy is crucial. The worst effect of war is death of a spouse or a parent. It’s very hard for people who used to live together and share every moment of their life experiences to get over such incidence easily.
Death brings about permanent separation which can cause a very serious emotional problem if not handled carefully. In the years preceding the cold war many families suffered permanent separation as a result of death. The safety of families becomes an issue of concern as they have to be protected from emotional stress, political violence, exploitation, or moral problems (Henderson 2006). It’s particularly very hard for those families that remain headed by women, since there is gender discrimination and the female members are vulnerable to community violence such as sexual exploitation and other forms of bigotry.
The victims of war, especially if the people involved are family members of the soldiers, they can loose familial, cultural, religious and national identity as prejudice. The education and socialization characteristics are greatly affected as a result of the consequences of war. Some of the family members are greatly depressed so that their concentration at school may be reduced (Costello 1994). Teachers who were interviewed on the performance of students whose parents were in military often appear depressed in times of war and those who lost their parents in war were very affected that some even opted to quit schooling.
Another contributing effects of the education problems of students, is the fact that the single parents may spent a lot of time looking for other family requirements and neglecting the education of the children. The socialization of the family member was affected twice, as some felt proud of their parents or spouses participation in the war while others were more worried of the outcome of the war that they get stressed. Everybody is entitled to love and affection; this is reduced in a family where one parent is involved in war.
When the family members are experiencing tough times in life such as managing stress and tension, they tend not to love and express their affection (Henderson 2006). Parents involved in war may be ruthless as a result of developed hate form the war zone and may impose ruthless punitive measures on their children. Children need to grow with both parents in a joyful environment. The War and Other Family Members The effects of war on other member of the military families especially the spouse is another serious concern.
Wars can lead to loss of a loved one, following death of a spouse; a cascade of problematic events may follow leading to mental breakdown if not properly managed and especially of women parents (Henderson 2006). Death of a spouse usually initiates stressful situation, the children may as well be affected and could drop out of school farther heightening stress to the single mother. As the single mother struggles with providing basic needs to the family and dealing with family problems may become unbearable. The net result may be depression.
The death brings about family interruption, loss of military support, possible family relocation, and possible change in education of children (Costello 1994). When explaining the effects of war on other family members it’s very important to address the following basic concepts of community and war; 1. Ameliorating the original way of life – possible relocation 2. Disruption of the family as a unit – loss of a spouse and parent 3. Community disintegration 4. The greatness, abruptness, and period of the war experience
5. Change in the Physical – psychology of the siblings. Statistics indicate that about 73% of the 56 % who are recruited in the military forces were married with over half of the married fraction having children. As a result of the requirements of the military job, many men and women usually leave their families in order to attend to their work duties. The parents left behind have to adopt single parenting while the other spouse is away and the children are also forced to get used to absentee parent (Costello 1994).
This circumstance presents a likelihood of divorce especially for female soldiers deployed to take part in war. The war situation could keep away the other spouse for a very long time especially for men and in such families, the employment rates of their wives is notably lower as compared to other civilian families. Conclusion The effects of war are very dangerous to the whole community at large. It affects businesses, destruction of property and land and stops development practices completely. All these effects come down to the families affected directly or indirectly by the war.
Some are the victims of the war a they are injured by soldiers while on the other hand, the soldiers might be injured in the therefore affecting his family. There are ways that can be adopted to solve some of the effects of war on the family of the military men and women. The first measure is to try as much as possible to stop or not get involved in any kind of war. Governments should give moral support to the family members left behind when their spouse or parents are deployed. Any military involvement in war should be aimed at peace keeping so as to reduce the incidences of injuries (especially permanent injuries) and death.
If the problem has already happened; the symptoms of possible effect should be observed, such as family problems (sleep depression, withdrawal and drug abuse); promote social and extended family communications; affected children should be coached on managing the stress after the loss of a parent or the tension and fear that something bad may happen. References Costello M. (1994). Children and Military Conflict. Current Issues and Treatment Implications. School Counselor. Henderson K. (2006). While They’re at War: The True Story of American Families on the Homefront. Mariner Publisher. Word count; 1,806
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