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Financial programs may help veterans who have problematic financial status (PFS). As they support veterans, they improve their ability to meet their immediate financial needs (IFN) and financial satisfaction (FS) after their military-to-civilian transition. This study examined the use of financial programs and distilled them into their content components and the processes by which content components are delivered. This study examined the degree to which the use of specific content and process components resulted in changes in IFN and FS over the first 30–33 months after the transition. Financial content components, including investment, budgeting, homeownership, accessing benefits, and credit-score information, were associated with either improved IFN or FS. Interactive tools were often a significant process component associated with the above content components. These findings can assist program developers and practitioners in promoting the use of content and process components that may aid veterans who are experiencing PFS.

AbstractParents influence their child’s positive development, and this is especially true during early childhood. In military families, the largest percentage of children are between 0 and 5 years old, and there is growing interest in developing and disseminating parent-focused interventions that target this age range for military parents. The present study examines the feasibility and proof-of-concept of the universal, web-based, Take Root parenting program, which was designed to empower military and civilian parents with a 0- to 3-year-old child in their parenting role and support positive child development. Seventy-nine participants were recruited from two Armed Services YMCA locations in fall 2019 and summer 2020. Results indicate that executing the research protocol and implementing the program among military families with young children were feasible. Further, significant pre- to post-changes in self-reports of parenting efficacy, mindful relaxation, and family functioning were found; however, when a Bonferroni-Holm correction was applied to account for multiple testing, only parenting efficacy remained significant. Collectively, the favorable results indicate the potential usefulness of Take Root for military families with young children and support the need for further, more rigorous evaluations of the program.

This study examines the cultural and contextual factors that influence the decisions of underrepresented urban youth, who identify themselves as Black/ African American, Latino, Arab, or Chaldean, to participate in youth programs. Although youth programs are increasingly recognized for their positive influences, little is known about the factors that influence a young person's decision to participate. Using the concept systems method, participants engaged in 'brainstorming sessions' that led to more in-depth discussions about why youth participate in youth programs. Overall, youth emphasized how youth programs help young people stay off the streets, learn new skills, avoid boredom, and provide opportunities for fun and enjoyable activities. The perceived barriers preventing young people from participating differed between genders and ethnicities and included barriers related to personal decisions, peer influence, and parental restrictions. Keywords: youth programs; minority youth; urban youth; participation

This study examined perceptions and experiences of youth and adults engaged in various types of community-based youth-adult relationships. Involvement and interaction rating scales were completed by 108 participants involved in community groups from 12 communities in 10 states. The rating scale measured three constructs: youth involvement, adult involvement, and youthadult interaction. Significant gender differences in participants' perceptions were found on all three constructs, with females being more positive. Rural participants were found to be significantly more positive than urban participants on the construct of youth involvement. Finally, significant differences were found between all participants within categories of the youth-adult relationship continuum. Participants in youth-led collaborations were significantly more positive toward youth involvement than participants in adult-led collaborations. Moreover, adults in youth-adult partnerships were significantly more positive toward youth involvement and youth-adult interaction than those adults in adult-led collaborations. Keywords: positive youth development; youth-adult relationships; youth-adult partnerships; youth-adult perceptions

The authors conducted an investigation of The Pennsylvania State University's Alcohol Intervention Program Level 2 (AIP2) to determine goodness of fit of the program components and its underpinning theories. They determined that the Health Belief Model, Social Norms Theory, Social Learning Theory, and the Transtheoretical Model Stages of Change and Process of Change are associated with AIP2's program elements. Although elements of AIP2 fit with these theories, gaps did exist within the program. The authors put forth recommendations for additional program elements that would strengthen the fit with these theories and enhance the program. In addition, upon examining the Transtheoretical Model Stages of Change and Process of Change in terms of sequence, the authors found that information from the readiness to change assessment was not being used to tailor the program elements to individual participant needs. Moreover, the postreadiness-to-change measure adapted by a prereadiness-to-change assessment was not useful in determining behavior change. Key Words: alcohol intervention program, college students, peer interventionist, theory-based programming, Problem drinking of alcohol and the negative behaviors associated with excessive drinking in college students (eg, vandalism, sexual assaults, other forms of violence) negatively impact US colleges and universities. (1) [...]

This study examined whether organized sports participation during childhood and adolescence was related to participation in sports and physical fitness activities in young adulthood. The data were from the Michigan Study of Adolescent Life Transitions. The analyses include more than 600 respondents from three waves of data (age 12, age 17, and age 25). Childhood and adolescent sports participation was found to be a significant predictor of young adults' participation in sports and physical fitness activities. Keywords: sports participation; physical fitness; childhood; adolescence; young adulthood

AbstractPromoting military child well-being is imperative for enhancing resiliency and public health within military families and the United States. Providing military families with parent-focused interventions (PFIs) is one, potentially beneficial technique for fostering favorable health outcomes in military children. This study presents implementation feasibility, fidelity, and initial post-program findings from a pilot study of Grow, a PFI that enhances positive parenting, stress management, and physical health promotion skills in military parents of children 5- to 10-year-old. Results indicate that Grow is highly acceptable, feasible to implement with fidelity, and shows promising post-program health outcomes. Study limitations and future directions are discussed.

This study examined how veteran social engagement predicted post-secondary school attainment. Nearly 10,000 post-9/11 veterans, who separated from military service in 2016, were surveyed on the programs/services they used over 4 years following separation. More than half of veterans had obtained a degree within 4 years of separation. A higher proportion of veterans of color and female veterans reported attending only some higher education than White non-Hispanic male veterans. Positive predictors of educational attainment included participating in veterans’ centers and veteran-student organizations, while negative predictors included financial and mental health problems. Implications for veteran-serving programs of post-secondary institutions are discussed.

ABSTRACTThe Institute of Medicine has stressed the need for evaluations of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among active duty service members (AD) using a variety of evaluation approaches (Institute of Medicine, 2012). The current study examined the clinical files of 134 service members who completed treatment for PTSD using either prolonged exposure (PE) or cognitive processing therapy at an outpatient clinic. At the completion of each session, therapists made a clinical rating as to whether or not the session was protocol adherent. The total number of treatment sessions and the proportion of sessions rated as being protocol adherent were calculated. Multi-level models estimated the change in patient PTSD and other psychological symptoms over time as a function of clinician-rated protocol adherence and total number of sessions. Approximately 65% of clinic encounters were rated by therapists as being protocol adherent. Significant reductions in PTSD and psychological symptoms were associated with protocol adherence, and this was particularly true for patients who began treatment above clinical thresholds for both PTSD and other psychological symptoms. However, as the number of sessions increased, the impact of protocol adherence was attenuated. Patient characteristics, including gender, ethnicity, and co-morbidity for other psychiatric disorders were not related to symptom change trajectories over time. These findings suggest that protocol adherence and efficiency in delivery of EBTs for the treatment of PTSD with AD is critical.

ABSTRACTEvidence-based programs can promote well-being; however, barriers to implementation exist. Barriers include lack of time to find evidence and lack of expertise among some practitioners in reading and evaluating evidence. A partnership among the Department of Defense Office of Military Community and Family Policy, the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, and Pennsylvania State University resulted in the development of a new information repository. The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse) and the Clearinghouse's Continuum of Evidence (Continuum) were designed to assist professionals in identifying evidence-based programs that can improve the well-being of military families (http://www.militaryfamilies.psu.edu). The development of the Continuum included reviews of existing rating systems, expert review, practical review, and inter-rater agreement checks. The Clearinghouse contains information on over 1,000 programs relevant to both civilian and military families. Topics include parenting, coping and resilience, child behavior, obesity, alcohol and substance use prevention, and mental health treatment; target audiences include children, youth, adults, and families. Empirical evidence and systematized criteria are used to place programs as Effective (Randomized Control Trial), Effective (Quasi-experimental), Promising, Unclear (+), Unclear (ø), Unclear (−), or Ineffective. The Clearinghouse provides information and encourages professionals to make informed decisions based on their needs and resources.

ABSTRACTThe New Parent Support Program (NPSP) is an intensive secondary prevention, parent-education program that serves high-needs families with very young children in the Active Components of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse) was tasked to work with all of the armed services to develop a common logic model and develop and test an expanded evaluation plan for NPSP. Using the principles of action research and practical program evaluation, the collaborative approach ensured that each service branch participated in building a logic model and evaluation plan that accurately represented their respective strengths, needs, and mission priorities. Program managers at the command levels of each service and the program manager at the Department of Defense level were key partners in working with Clearinghouse evaluators. The result is a two-tier model that will be implemented in a multisite evaluation setting. This model builds on common practices and measures and will offer flexibility for future growth, unique service priorities, and evaluation capacity.

The impact of service member suicides on families is not well understood. Civilian studies have demonstrated that family survivors of suicide deaths experience complicated grief, feel guilt and shame, and often do not receive sufficient social support. In this exploratory study, spouse survivors of Marines who died by suicide (N= 17), accident (N= 19), and in combat (N= 34) retrospectively reported on their immediate pre- and postmortem and current personal and family functioning. Nonparametric analyses revealed that several between-group differences existed. Observation of the means suggested that the spouses and families of Marines who died by suicide exhibited significantly poorer pre- and postmortem functioning compared with those whose spouses died in combat. Specific challenges included low family cohesion, high family conflict, perceived stigma, and shame. There were no differences in current spouse or family functioning, and there was weak evidence for posttraumatic growth among surviving spouses of those dying by suicide. These results should be considered preliminary and interpreted with caution given several methodological challenges.

ABSTRACTEmpirical studies have consistently demonstrated that military personnel underuse mental health services. Stigma associated with seeking and receiving treatment has been hypothesized to play a significant role in failure to access potentially helpful services and supports. The authors reviewed peer-reviewed articles published from June 2000 to June 2015 and examined how stigmatizing attitudes, attributions, and beliefs about mental health conditions, mental health treatment, and seeking help influence help seeking and service utilization for different military personnel subgroups. The authors highlight patterns and inconsistencies identified in the literature and provide recommendations for future research and clinical practice.

Little is known about military families who have a dependent with special health care and/or educational needs. The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) is designed to link these families to military/community support services through family support provider (FS providers).

abstractEvidence-based practice (EBP) improves health and well-being by providing current scientific evidence in treating a wide range of military family challenges. However, there are a number of real and perceived barriers to the adoption of this practice. To help reduce barriers, the Department of Defense partnered with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to fund the development of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at the Pennsylvania State University. The Clearinghouse provides a growing web-based repository of information on more than 900 programs and practices that can be used by military personnel and their families. These programs have been closely vetted by a team of research and evaluation scientists and placed on a continuum of evidence, indicating the level of empirical support for each program (i.e., Effective, Promising, Unclear, and Ineffective). The Clearinghouse also provides live technical assistance to advise social service professionals working with military families on the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based programs and practices. In this article we describe how military and civilian social service practitioners can benefit from partnering with the Clearinghouse.

The complexity of society and the problems it is facing demand that people work collaboratively. Certain styles of leadership will not work for collaborative ventures. For example, the authoritarian leader cannot work collaboratively, because he/she cannot create the atmosphere of creativity and freedom needed to deal with the issues of our technologically advanced society. Service is a major component of leadership in any organization or society. There must be an ethic of effective service among all citizens if society is going to successfully maneuver through the 1990s and beyond. Moreover, service must be incorporated within leadership for an ethic of effective service to become a reality. This paper will examine what kind of leadership is needed to promote an ethic of effective service. First, a more ecological (holistic) definition and perspective of leadership are laid out that allow us to view leadership in a more holistic manner. Second, service is presented as part and parcel of the kind of leadership needed to promote an ethic of effective service. Third, certain characteristics of the leader's style are suggested which promote an ethic of effective leadership. Fourth, the process and environment that promote service leadership are discussed. Finally, simplicity is presented as being consistently intertwined with a leader's lifestyle.