Dr. Daniel F. Perkins
New research, funded by the Office of Military Community and Family Policy in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), analysed the experiences and needs of military families.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s report, “Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society” provided recommendation on ways to address challenges faced by military families including trauma exposure and economic stresses, according to the Pennsylvania State University.
“Supporting the well-being of military families is essential to ensuring the readiness of military personnel,” according to the research.
To better support military-affiliated families, the report suggested revaluating DoD’s policies, resources and programs as well as create definitions for “family readiness,” “family well-being,” and “family resilience,” Penn State reported.
“Military family well-being is incredibly important to military readiness,” Dr. Daniel F. Perkins, co-author of the report and professor of family and youth resiliency and policy at Penn State, said in a statement. “Families provide support to service members while they serve, but challenges within the family can interfere with service members’ ability to focus on the mission as well as influence service members’ choice in continuing to serve.”
