Teens in military families are often burdened by additional emotional stress when a parent is deployed to Afghanistan, according to a new Canadian study, wrote CBCNews.ca March 25:

Researchers from the University of New Brunswick, the University of Alberta, Ryerson University, and York University released the findings of their groundbreaking research on Thursday that examined students at Oromocto High School near Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, who recently had a parent serving in the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.

The researchers reported the teens worried their parents would not return home or would come back "different."

The study found that stress caused concerns at home. The young people felt a sense of responsibility for the emotional stability of their other parent and for any younger siblings at home. The teen felt additional stress if the parent remaining in Canada was having difficulty with the other parent being away on the military mission.

. . .

The teens reported feelings of isolation in attempting to deal with those problems, according to the study.

In particular, adolescent girls took on a large share of the family's emotional burden when one parent was overseas.

. . .

[The] study was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.It is a part of a larger study into the mental health and well-being of adolescents in military families.

The studywas covered by parentcentral.ca, the Canadaeast.com, the Montreal Gazette, and CTV.ca among other news outlets.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile– York University’s daily e-bulletin.