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Military-Connected Adolescents’ Emotional and Behavioral Risk Status: Comparisons of Universal Screening Data and National Norms

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Abstract

Differences in risk for social, emotional, and behavioral problems in the military dependent and non-military population across gender and age group, were examined using an instrument with established psychometric properties. Schools with an average of 25% military students (two elementary schools and two high schools) were selected based on their student population and absence of tier one or two intervention programming. A total of 3111 students were sampled; data for 2852 participants were available for analysis. Proportion differences across categories of risk indicate no statistically significant difference in risk between military and non-military students within the district overall but differences were found by age and gender. Statistically significant differences were also identified between military-student population national norms. Implications include the use of universal screening to identify sub-groups for targeted programming.

Highlights

  • Research examining the incidence and prevalence of mental health concerns among military-connected children has yet to reach consensus.

  • Very few existing studies use instruments with published psychometric properties; the BASC-2 BESS was used in this study.

  • Results highlight the importance of referencing a nationally normed sample when assessing risk in military children.

  • This sample did not have differences in the risk level of military-dependents when compared to non-military peers.

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Funding

This research study was not funded; however, the school district purchased and administered the screeners using funds from the Department of Defense Education Agency (DoDEA) Federal Grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Vermont, 528 Waterman Building, 85 So. Prospect, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    Kimberly J. Vannest

  2. Texas A&M University—Commerce, Commerce, TX, USA

    Kelly M. Carrero

  3. Fidelity Consultation and Evaluation, LLC, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Brenda Patience

  4. Bossier Parish Schools, Bossier, LA, USA

    Georgette Price

  5. PsychEd, LLC, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Rob Altmann

  6. Life Skills Autism Academy, Plano, TX, USA

    April Haas

  7. Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA

    Stacey Smith

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Correspondence to Kimberly J. Vannest.

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For this type of study formal consent is not required. This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Participants did not report identifying data and, thus, data were always completely de-identified.

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At the time of the use of the screener, the school district sent home passive consent indicating the purpose of the screener (and a battery of other screeners not examined by this research team) and the targets of the DoDEA funded school initiatives.

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Vannest, K.J., Carrero, K.M., Patience, B. et al. Military-Connected Adolescents’ Emotional and Behavioral Risk Status: Comparisons of Universal Screening Data and National Norms. J Child Fam Stud 30, 134–145 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01887-y

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