Sarah Friedman<\/a> at the George Washington University thought that long-distance communication between the deployed parents and their children might help children\u2019s functioning. Therefore they studied the amount and the quality of such communication and the extent these features of communication are related to children\u2019s wellbeing. Because they wanted to get information from the children themselves, they focused on children who were old enough to respond to their online surveys.<\/p>\nThey asked 75 11- to 18-year-olds about the frequency and the nature of the communication with their deployed parents and also about how well they were functioning and how they felt following communications with the deployed parent. They asked the parent or caregiver at home about the adolescent\u2019s functioning, behaviour problems and feelings following communication with the deployed parent.<\/p>\n
They researchers asked about all kinds of communication: phone, email, social media, text, video chat, photo sharing and letters. Quality of communication was assessed with questions about two kinds communication when the parent and child were conversing at the same time: on the one hand, positive, supportive, and listening; on the other, controlling and dominant. The young people answered questions like \u201cHow often did your parent ask you about what was happening in school?\u201d \u201cHow often did your parent tell you he\/she can\u2019t wait to see you again?\u201d \u201cHow often did your parent tell you that you need to try harder \/ be nicer \/ be less upset?\u201d<\/p>\n
The young people were also asked about their health and functioning (e.g., \u201cHave you felt fit and well?\u201d \u201cHave you felt lonely?\u201d \u201cHave you had fun with your friends?) and about how unhappy or happy they were when a communication with the deployed parent ended. The children\u2019s at-home parent or caregiver answered the same questions, as well as questions about the children\u2019s problem behaviour (e.g., \u201cDoes he\/she have sudden changes in moods?\u201d \u201cIs he\/she cruel or mean to others?\u201d \u201cIs he\/she disobedient at home?\u201d)<\/p>\n
The researchers found great variation in the quantity and quality of communications reported by the young people. On average, though, children and deployed parents communicated more than 10 times a week, with an average duration of 9.6 minutes. Young people reported positive communication most of the time and controlling communication only sometimes.<\/p>\n
The research team found that the quantity<\/em> of communication was not statistically related to the young people\u2019s functioning, but better quality<\/em> communication (that is, positive communication) was related to better child functioning and more positive emotions, as reported by the young person, and also more sadness at the end of the communications. The at-home caregivers also reported higher functioning and more positive feelings on the part of young people who experienced positive communication with the deployed parent\u2014and more child behaviour problems when the deployed parent was more controlling.<\/p>\n\n
References<\/h4>\n
Friedman SL, Sigelman CK, Rohrbeck CA & del Rio-Gonzalez AM (2016), Quantity and quality of communication during parental deployment: Links to adolescents\u2019 functioning<\/a>, Applied Developmental Science<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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