Mental and Behavioral Disorders related to the Military Child Chelsey Samide EDU 671 Debra Naughton 6 July 2015

Action Research Project  “Action research helps to develop teachers and administrations with professional attitudes, who embrace action, progress, and reform rather than stability and mediocrity” states Mills.

Area of Focus The focus of my research project are military families. Military families undergo many stressors to include war, fatigue, anxiety, stress, lack of intimacy, and mental/behavioral disorders. My area of focus will be the development of mental/behavioral disorders dependents get when their service members separate (deploy, pcs move, temporary change of station). Military children are a percentage of the world’s population that encounter more family separation and transition that the average child. Finding resources and programs to implement safe and healthy lifestyles and adjustments for these youth will help better assist them in school and in their personal lives.

Explanation of Focus The problem is that there are at least 10,000 military-affiliated youth at each military installation. With that, there are thousands of servicemen that deploy every year. “Being a part of the military institution during times of war, soldiers—and their families—live daily with the unnerving anticipation of lengthy separations, multiple deployments, routinized violence, and the effects of war (Serrato, 2014).There are more youth affected every year by deployments, transitions, temporary duty assignments and trainings. With those affected, some children will and have developed mental/behavior disorders

Variables There are variables that are apart of this research project. Factors include: culturally diverse participants, military life, time sensitivity, willing participants, and qualitative vs quantitative data

Research Questions 1. What strategies can be implemented to assist military children that develop mental/behavioral disorders? 2. What activities can be implemented in the classroom for both students with and without mental/behavior disorders? 3. What resources are readily available from counselors to military children and parents of students with mental/behavioral disorders? 4. Are military children that are affected by deployments at risk for other mental or behavioral disorders later on in life? 5. Do the spouses (or parent’s) of military dependents accepting of the child’s disorder and willing to get them the necessary assistance they need?

Locus of Control My locus of control is my basic motivation for getting help/support to all military families in need of assistance. I think that I can obtain this with my research.

Intervention/Innovation The problem is that there are at least 10,000 military-affiliated youth at each military installation. With that, there are thousands of servicemen that deploy every year. “Being a part of the military institution during times of war, soldiers—and their families— live daily with the unnerving anticipation of lengthy separations, multiple deployments, routinized violence, and the effects of war (Serrato, 2014).There are more youth affected every year by deployments, transitions, temporary duty assignments and trainings. With those affected, some children will and have developed mental/behavior disorders. Do they know what their feelings mean and what they are experiencing? I not only work on a military installation but my children are military-dependents that have been affected by such situations like deployments and changes of duty stations.

Intervetion/Innovation The history of the situation begins with the soldiers and the many stressors that soldiers undergo. “Mood disorders may affect anyone at any time, but military service members are at a particularly high risk for developing conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)” (Krucik, March 2012). Many soldiers have suffered from PTSD, brain injuries and even depression as a result of deployments. Multiple deployments and trauma not only affect the soldiers but also have a direct effect on their spouses and children as well. These stressors can ultimately effect the children which can result in mental and behavioral disorders. There are many signs that are associated with stressors of mental and behavioral disorders; separation anxiety, temper, tantrums, mood swings, acting out, or social isolation.

Group Membership, including the identified importance, role, and responsibility of each member, At least 5 Participants to include:  MFLCs (military life consultants) which are counselors for military children  Youth ages (2 or 3)  1 teacher (who has seen or identified mental/behavior disorders in military child)  2 children that have suffered from a mental/behavior disorder

Negotiations Obstacles that may arise would be: 1. Not getting consent from each participant 2. Not being able to interview a teacher due to the summer break 3. Not being able to interview/observe a session with a military counselor due to their own personal HIPPA rules My hope is to have enough willing participants to gather enough data for my research.

Ethics  I will use respectful tasks which are purposeful, meaningful, and engaging which will allow students to explore skills and understanding at appropriate degrees of difficulty (Puckett). All willing participants will be submit to this research on a voluntary basis. I will ensure to address any ethical concerns will address the ethical concerns by ensuring I keep my own personal thoughts or beliefs from the research so that true data can be analyzed. At no time will I compromise any of the data to sway my research or topic so that it agrees with my topic. I want only raw material and I will make sure to document all material accurately and effectively. After analyzing the data, I want to compile it into a research paper that is easy to comprehend and informative as well.

Timeline I would like to be able to have ample time for this project. Time management is highly important, especially with this project.  Gathering participants and submissions of consent forms from participants: approx. 1 week  Observation in a classroom setting: 1 day  Observation/interview with a MFLC, parents, and youth : 1 -2 days each  Organize data from classroom and interviews: 1 week  Online research: 4-5 days  Analyze, process, and final project: 3-4 days

Statement of Resources Resources  Reliable on-line resources  Reputable relatable action research papers  Library access  Willing participants  Recorder for accuracy of statements

Data Collection  When writing your research paper Mills states, “Review Related Literature, Identify Keywords, Identify Resources, etc” Mills states, “The decision about what data are collected for an action research area of focus is largely determined by the nature of the problem. There is no one recipe for how to proceed with data collection efforts. Rather, the individual or group must determine what data will contribute to their understanding and revolution of a given problem.” Examples: surveys, portfolios, interviews, oral history, rating scales, research topics, observations, journals, and photographs

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