Abstract
Objective: Military service is a highly stressful period both for the soldiers serving and for their parents. Surprisingly, parents’ experience has been mostly ignored in the research. This study’s goal is to shed light on the experience and distress levels of parents of active duty combat soldiers during Operation Protective Edge, a military operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces during July and August of 2014.Methods: During the advanced stages of the operation, 69 parents of Israeli male combat soldiers (55 mothers and 14 fathers) completed an online survey measuring symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD-Checklist-5) and distress (Brief Symptom Inventory-18). Participants were recruited using a convenience sample, by posting ads on the public Facebook pages of the researchers and of the groups dedicated to parents of Israeli soldiers.Results: Parents’ depression and anxiety symptom levels were higher than depression and anxiety symptom levels of the adult community norms in Israel. General distress rates of parents were similar to those presented by adults in southern Israel who were exposed for 7 years to the ongoing threat of daily rocket fire from Gaza, and higher than rates of a non-threatened Israeli population. Finally, 20.2% of the parents presented PTSD-like symptoms, a higher percentage than the probable PTSD diagnosis rates that were found in the general population in Israel during previous terror waves.Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence of soldiers’ parents’ distress and indicates the need for a better understanding of the impact of military service on soldiers’ parents.
Highlights
Since the start of the global war on terror and increased international involvement in war zones worldwide, military service has become a common part of many young adults’ lives
A total of 69 parents – 55 mothers and 14 fathers – of Israeli male combat soldiers participated in this study, which was conducted during the period dating from July 31 to August 25, 2014
Convenience sampling was used to recruit parents, on a voluntary basis, by posting ads on public Facebook groups initiated by parents of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, which invite other parents to exchange information and share their experience of having a child in the army
Summary
Since the start of the global war on terror and increased international involvement in war zones worldwide, military service has become a common part of many young adults’ lives. In 2014, out of 1.32 million active duty US army military personnel, nearly half (49.6%) were 25 years of age or younger, and 42.2% were single and had no children (U.S Department of Defense, 2014). In Israel, where hostility with neighboring Arab countries is often manifested in periodic outbreaks of war and terror, compulsory military service is one of the most profound stages in the lives of most adolescents between the ages of 18–21 years (Mayseless, 2002). As of 2014, about 73% of male 18 years olds were recruited for a term of 3 years of compulsory military service (Pesso, 2014). About 45% served in combat units in 2013 (David, 2013).
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