title: Adolescent well-being in Washington state military families.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined associations between parental military service and adolescent well-being.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used cross-sectional data from the 2008 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey collected in public school grades 8, 10, and 12 (n = 10,606). We conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses to test associations between parental military service and adolescent well-being (quality of life, depressed mood, thoughts of suicide).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 8th grade, parental deployment was associated with higher odds of reporting thoughts of suicide among adolescent girls (odds ratio [OR] = 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.19, 2.32) and higher odds of low quality of life (OR = 2.10; 95% CI = 1.43, 3.10) and thoughts of suicide (OR = 1.75; 95% CI = 1.15, 2.67) among adolescent boys. In 10th and 12th grades, parental deployment was associated with higher odds of reporting low quality of life (OR = 2.74; 95% CI = 1.79, 4.20), depressed mood (OR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.02, 2.20), and thoughts of suicide (OR = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.13, 2.38) among adolescent boys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parental military deployment is associated with increased odds of impaired well-being among adolescents, especially adolescent boys. Military, school-based, and public health professionals have a unique opportunity to develop school- and community-based interventions to improve the well-being of adolescents in military families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195-7660, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: Janice F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Todd C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D014481:United States; D014861:Washington