Dissertation
The impact of family stress on mobile military-connected children: a mixed methods study
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001282
Abstract
This mixed methods study examined parents' perceptions of their military-connected children's experiences, academic performance, and social-emotional wellbeing during relocations to Okinawa, Japan, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study looked through the lens of the contextual model of family stress to determine if a connection existed between families' coping and responses to stress and the challenges military-connected children experience during relocations. A survey was distributed to 14 participants using convenience sampling to determine military-connected families' coping and responses to stress. Based on the survey results, using extreme case sampling, participants were placed in one of two groups: those whose ratio scores were greatest in the secondary control engagement coping subscale on the Response to Stress Questionnaire (RSQ) and those whose ratio scores were greatest in the involuntary engagement subscale on the RSQ. The researcher asked three survey participants from each group to participate in interviews for the qualitative phase of this research study. The researcher carefully designed interview questions to answer the primary research question: How do parents' perceptions of how they respond to stress contribute to the parents' perceptions of their children's academic performance and social-emotional wellbeing during relocations to Okinawa, Japan? After qualitative data collection, the researcher transcribed the data and employed several coding methods during first cycle and second cycle coding to develop three themes: (a) Parental support is necessary as military-connected children adapt to new school settings, (b) emotional support and coping strategies are essential as military-connected children adapt, and (c) the military community and resources are invaluable. The researcher concluded that military relocations are challenging despite the differences in the way parents respond to and cope with stress. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic made an already difficult life event even more challenging and increased the stressor. By examining family stress experienced by military-connected families during relocation and the impact it has on their children, the military community, parents, and educators of military-connected children can better understand the relationship between how a family responds to and copes with family stress and military-connected children's experiences during relocations.
Metrics
65 File views/ downloads
69 Record Views
Details
- Title
- The impact of family stress on mobile military-connected children
- Creators
- Allison Christine Schaffer
- Contributors
- Mary Jean Tecce DeCarlo (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xii, 162 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991018527107804721