Internalizing and externalizing behavior of children with enlisted navy mothers experiencing military-induced separation

Objectives: To examine whether children with Navy mothers exhibit higher le vels of internalizing and externalizing behavior than children in civilian families and whether deployment affects children's internalizing and extern alizing behavior. Method: Navy mothers who experienced deployment completed a measure assessing children's internalizing and externalizing behavior be fore and after a deployment land at similar intervals for the Navy and civi lian comparison groups). Data collection took place between 1996 and 1998. Results: Navy children with deployed mothers exhibited higher levels of int ernalizing behavior than children with nondeployed Navy mothers. Navy child ren whose mothers experienced deployment were more likely to exhibit clinic al levels of internalizing behavior than Navy children with nondeployed mot hers or civilian children. Group differences, however, were modest and over all mean scores were in the normal range. Conclusions: Findings do not sugg est greater pathology in children of Navy mothers; however. findings do ind icate we should be particularly attentive of deployed mothers and their chi ldren.