"The researchers speculated that, with fathers away, the younger children had more time to bond with their mothers, a benefit for that age group"
Oh, it is a GOVERNMENT STUDY, is it? Pffffftttt!!!
"Add aggressive kids to deployment's toll; Study finds more behavorial issues in preschoolers" by Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press | November 4, 2008
CHICAGO - Preschoolers with a parent away at war were more likely to show aggression than other young children in military families, according to the first published research on how the very young react to wartime deployment.
Hitting, biting and hyperactivity - "the behaviors parents really notice" - were more frequent when a parent was deployed, said lead author Dr. Molinda Chartrand, a pediatrician on active duty in the Air Force.
The small study, which included fewer than 200 children, adds to previous evidence of the stress that deployment puts on families. Since the war began in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, "this is the first time any data have been published on these little kids," said Chartrand, who conducted the study while at Boston University School of Medicine.
The age of the children made a big difference in the study, which appears in this month's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. While older preschoolers had trouble, deployment had the opposite effect on children younger than 3, yielding fewer behavior problems as rated by parents and caregivers.
The researchers speculated that, with fathers away, the younger children had more time to bond with their mothers, a benefit for that age group. In a few families, it was the mother who was away at war, but for most (92 percent), it was the father. Children with existing conditions, such as autism or attention-deficit disorder, were excluded from the study, and the researchers took into account the at-home parent's depression and stress. --more--"
Translation: The study by the military LOW-BALLS the PROBLEMS!!!
ALL CHILDREN are affected by the LOSS of a PARENT!!
And some of them CAME BACK in a BOX!!!!
