Military families continue to increase in diversity, a fact that is not always well-studied or represented in research studies and the resources and policies that they influence. This blog shares information from a recent review of research studies that examined how military families are defined and represented in mental health and substance abuse research.
Alcohol use disorder within families is a topic with potential impact across subpopulations and is not specific to the population of military families. In fact, although reviews of research suggest that there may be a higher incidence of problematic drinking in some segments (but not all) of the military, the highest rates of problematic drinking seem to be observed in military populations that are inconsistent with military families with children (as factors related to higher rates include those who are single and do not have children; Osborne et al., 2022). Even more explicitly, I’m not aware of any studies which have noted a heightened prevalence of problematic drinking in military families with children versus civilian families with children.
While I’ve written numerous blogs about military couples, one of my other professional interests is suicide prevention. Since September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, I thought suicide prevention would be a good topic for my blog post this month. So, when I recently ran across Khalifan and colleagues’ (2022) article “Utilizing the couple relationship to prevent suicide: A preliminary examination of treatment for relationships and safety together” I was intrigued!
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This month is dedicated to focusing awareness on training and resources specific to suicide prevention with the hope of decreasing stigma and increasing help-seeking behavior. When deciding what to write about, I wanted to focus on two areas that have really been pivotal in my clinical career path: eating disorders (EDs) and suicide prevention. Early in my graduate studies, my clinical focus was on the assessment and treatment of EDs.
When I became a parent just over five years ago, I felt so untethered. Here I was a practicing mental health professional for 20 years and I was scrambling for information on “infant sleep” and “what to do if you’re struggling with breastfeeding.” Fast forward to the early school-age period, and I now anxiously seek out information on power struggles and managing tantrums. Apparently, knowing a lot about child development doesn’t actually prepare you when it’s your own child.