Analysis of Specific Psychosocial Burdens on Children of Members of the Armed Forces, Especially in Foreign Missions, and Identification of Prevention and Intervention Strategies

Children of Soldiers, Children of Members of the Armed Forces, Children of Bundeswehr Members, Psychosocial Stress, Resilience, Increased Risk, Prevention and Intervention Options, Mental Health

• Brandenburg Medical School
• Sigmund Freud University Vienna
• Bundeswehrkrankenhaus (hospital of the armed forces) Berlin – Psychotrauma Center/Center for Psychiatry and Psychotraumatology

01.01.2016–31.12.2017

Parents' psychological stress is a risk factor for children to develop mental disorders themselves. Due to their profession, soldiers are hardly comparable with other professional groups in Germany today in terms of their stress profile and their experiences. Especially the experience of foreign missions in crisis and war zones are experiences that other parents in Germany do not have to make, and thus neither do their children.
The aim of the pilot project is to investigate the living conditions of children from families in the Bundeswehr (German armed forces). These include special challenges and requirements, the development of strengths or special needs and wishes. Furthermore, existing intervention and prevention offers and the need for support of Bundeswehr families are surveyed.

Description of the Project

The pilot project consists of a systematic review and analysis of existing international study results, which are transferred to the German health and social system. For the pilot project, 18 qualitative interviews will be held with the children, the soldiers and their partners. For this, we selected families with a parent who works exclusively in Germany, who has been abroad, or has a mental disorder caused by a mission. In addition, ten telephone interviews with various experts from the psychosocial network of the Bundeswehr were held to assess the support situation. At the end of the project, an interdisciplinary panel of experts will discuss to what extent specific needs or care requirements exist for children from Bundeswehr families, both within the Bundeswehr care setting for families and within the regular health care and youth welfare system.