LIFE SKILLS (MENTAL HEALTH)

OTS Topic

a)  Using the services of life skills (Mental Health Agency) is necessary for a fit to fight force.
b)  Preventing domestic violence is everyone's concern.

January 2011

Compiled by Bibliography Branch
Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center
Maxwell AFB, AL

Contents

• Internet Resources
• Books
• Documents
• Periodicals

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Air Force of the Web site or the information, products, or services contained therein.  For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and morale, welfare and recreation sites, the U.S. Air Force does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations.  Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD Web site.

Some materials listed below require access to subscription databases.  If you cannot gain access, contact your local library for availability.  AU students and faculty can contact the Center's Web Maintainer for a password.

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All sites listed were last accessed on January 28, 2011.

Flowers, Alfred K., Jr., and others.  Sociological Effects of Deployments on Air Force Families:  Are Deployment Effects on Family Driving Out Seasoned Officers Prior To Twenty Years?  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air Command and Staff College, April 2008.  187 p. 
Available online at:  https://www.afresearch.org/ (Scroll to the bottom of the page to download paper)
This paper examines the effects of deployments on Airmen and their families, particularly the impact on officer retention rates.

Honore', Charles.  "Fit to Fight":  Is Post Traumatic Stress Decreasing our Readiness?  Carlisle Barracks, PA, U.S. Army War College, March 3, 2007.  32 p.
Available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA493574
"By understanding the impacts that extended deployments have in domestic violence and other potential post traumatic stress symptoms, senior leadership can better emplace measures to care for their most precious resource, their people." - Article.

Books

Alt, Betty Sowers.  Following the Flag:  Marriage and the Modern Military.  Westport, CT, Praeger Security International, 2009.  138 p.
Including historical material for comparison, Following the Flag discusses the problems and the perks of being a family in today’s armed forces.
Book call no.:  306.85088 A465f

Cheldelin, Sandra and Lucas, Ann F.  The Jossey-Bass Academic Administrator’s Guide to Conflict Resolution.  San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass, 2004.  110 p.
Book call no.:  378.11 C516j

Dutton, Donald G.  Rethinking Domestic Violence.  Vancouver, UBC Press, 2006.  415 p.
"The research crosses disciplinary lines, including social and clinical psychology, sociology, psychiatry, affective neurophysiology, criminology, and criminal justice research.  Since the area of intimate partner violence (IPV) is so heavily politicized, Dutton tries to steer through conflicting claims by assessing the best research methodology.  As a result, he comes to some very new conclusions." - Book Jacket. 
Also available online at:  http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/fy0701/2006445084.html (Table of contents only)
Book call no.:  362.8292 D981r

Hunter, Mic.  Honor Betrayed:  Sexual Abuse in America’s Military.  Fort Lee, NJ, Barricade Books, 2007.  355 p.
"Dr. Hunter describes in-depth how the culture of the military promotes sexual abuse, and, more important, gives practical recommendations for what can be done to see to it that those who volunteer to defend our country are treated with the respect they deserve." - Book Jacket.
Also available online at:  http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip079/2007003863.html (Table of contents only)
Book  call no.:  355.1334 H946h

Johnson, Shannon J. and others.  The Psychological Needs of U.S. Military Service Members and Their Families:  A Preliminary Report.  Washington, American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Military Deployment Services for Youth, Families and Service Members, February 2007.  67 p.
"This Task Force was charged with identifying the psychological risks and mental health-related service needs of military members and their families during and after deployment(s); developing a strategic plan for working with the military and other organizations to meet those needs; and constructing a list of current APA resources available for military members and families." - Report, page 9.
Also available online at:  http://www.apa.org/about/governance/council/policy/military-deployment-services.pdf
Book call no.:  355.345 P974

Karney, Benjamin R. and Crown, John S.  Families Under Stress:  An Assessment of Data, Theory, and Research on Marriage and Divorce in the Military.  Santa Monica, CA, RAND Corp., 2007.  206 p.
"To evaluate this impact, the authors draw on marital status data in service personnel records to estimate trends in marriage and marital dissolution between 1996 and 2005 and the specific effects of time deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq on subsequent risk of ending a marriage.  The results generally run counter to expectations." - Book Jacket.
Also available online at:  http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2007/RAND_MG599.pdf
Book call no.:  355.120973 K18f

Military Psychiatry:  Preparing in Peace for War, edited by Russ Zajtchuk and others.  Falls Church, VA, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Dept. of the Army, 1994.  314 p.
Refer to Chapter 2:  Military Families and Combat Readiness.  The section on Family Issues and Readiness pp. 25-28 is to the point.  The report is a little dated but provides good background.
Also available online at:  http://www.bordeninstitute.army.mil/published_volumes/military_psychiatry/military_psychiatry.html
Book call no.:  616.89 M644

Documents

Cotton, Roger D.  Clear, Hold and Build:  Strengthening Marriages to Preserve the Force.  Carlisle Barracks, PA, Army War College, March 6, 2009.  33 p.
"The 'Long War' on terror has required multiple deployments of Army forces and generated a tremendous amount of increased stress on Army families, and marriages in particular.  The paper analyzes stress on Army marriages, its impact on readiness and retention, and provide suggested improvements to preserve the all-volunteer force.  The research analyzed the stress on Army marriages from deployments, separations, relocations, etc. and use indicators of impact on marriages, such as divorce trends, domestic violence or abuse." - Abstract.
Doc. call no.:  M-U 39080-537 C764c

United States.  Government Accountability Office.  Military Personnel:  Progress Made in Implementing Recommendations to Reduce Domestic Violence, but Further Management Action Needed.  Washington, U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2006.  60 p.
"Due to concerns about domestic violence in the military and its adverse effect on mission readiness, Congress required the Department of Defense (DoD) to establish a task force to assess the services’ response to domestic violence and recommend improvements." - Article.
Report to Congressional Committees.
Also available online at:  http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06540.pdf
Doc. call no.:  M-U 41026-173 no.06-540h

United States.  Government Accountability Office.  Military Personnel:  Status of Implementation of GAO’s 2006 Recommendations on DOD’s Domestic Violence Program.  Washington, U.S. Government Accountability Office, April, 2010.  16 p.
Also available online at:  http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10577r.pdf
Doc. call no.:  M-U 41026-173 no.10-577R

Pepin, John C.  The Effects of Combat Deployments on Children and Spouses.  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air War College, February 12, 2009.  37 p.
"This paper discusses current research related to combat deployments’ negative effects on military families, such as increased child abuse, higher divorce rates, and mental health issues.  It also gives an overview of some Air Force and DoD programs designed to assist families with deployment issues, notes that families are not fully utilizing existing programs and makes recommendations regarding those programs and directions for future research." - Article.
Also available online at:  https://www.afresearch.org/ (Scroll to the bottom of the page to download paper)
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43117 P422e

Periodicals

Anderson, Jon.  PTSD Proving to Be Major Threat to Military Marriages.  Air Force Times 70:15-16 March 22, 2010.
"While a deployment itself often feels like the worst kind of marital marathon, couples and care providers say the silent killer for many relationships is the psychological stress, strain and suffering of war that many troops find hard to leave on the battlefield." - Article.
Also available online at:  http://docs.newsbank.com/

Anderson, Jon R.  8 Years of War Take a Toll on Military Marriages.  Air Force Times 70:4-5 (In "OFF Duty" Section) February 22, 2010.
"Married troops are bickering more, loving less and deciding in ever-increasing numbers that they are better off without their better half, according to the latest surveys." - Article.
Also available online at:  http://iw.newsbank.com/

Holden, Mark.  Commander Directed Evaluations:  What Every Commander Should Know about Mental Health Evaluations.  TIG Brief 55:14-15 November-December 2003.
Also available online at:  http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PAJ/is_6_55/ai_112482133

Holmes, Erik.  Health Care Stretch War-Zone Deployments Mean Longer Waits, More Tricare Referrals at Stateside Hospitals.  Air Force Times 67:14-16 January 29, 2007.
Continuing personnel shortages and ramped up deployments have the Air Force medical corps stretched thin.
Also available online at:  http://infoweb.newsbank.com/

Jensen, Ron.  Beyond the Yellow Ribbon.  National Guard 62:22-25 January 2008.
"The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program, which may soon spread in some form throughout the military, was born when Shellito gathered his commanders and told them he wanted to address the difficulties soldiers have returning from combat to their homes and families." - Article.
Also available online at:  http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=1427856591&sid=2&Fmt=6&clientId=417&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Jowers, Karen.  Mental Health Support Lacking, Advisers Say - Troops, Families Need More Screening, Treatment.  Air Force Times 67:20 February 26, 2007.
The services' senior enlisted advisers told lawmakers they are concerned about making sure troops and their families seek the counseling they need--and about whether enough counseling is available.
Also available online at:  http://infoweb.newsbank.com/

Knox, Kerry L. and others.  The US Air Force Suicide Prevention Program:  Implications for Public Health Policy.  American Journal of Public Health 100:2457-2463 December 2010.
The article evaluated the effectiveness of the U.S. Air Force Suicide Prevention Program (AFSPP) in reducing suicide, and measured the extent to which Air Force installations implemented the program.
Also available online at:  http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=2191380801&sid=3&Fmt=6&clientId=417&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Roy, James A.  Caring for Airmen and Their Families.  Air Force Speeches, p 1-2, July 22, 2009.
Also available online at:  http://www.af.mil/information/speeches/speech.asp?id=494
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy remarks to the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel on the Oversight of Family Support Programs, Washington.

Taylor, Lisa and Pittman, Joe F.  Sex of Spouse Abuse Offender and Directionality of Abuse as Predictors of Personal Distress, Interpersonal Functioning, and Perceptions of Family Climate.  Journal of Family Violence 20:329-339 October, 2005.
"This study examines perceptions of personal distress, interpersonal functioning and family climate reported by men and women involved in unidirectional versus bidirectional spouse abuse.  Participants were 7253 offenders treated by the USAF Family Advocacy Program from 1988 to 1996." - Article.
Also available online at:  http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=957789351&sid=4&Fmt=6&clientId=417&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Van Norman, Jessica.  Lifting the Fog of War:  Combating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.  Marine Corps Gazette 94:69-74 July 2010.
"Some studies suggest that rates of domestic violence are five times higher in military households than those of the civilian community." - Article.
Also available online at:  http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=2075859591&sid=5&Fmt=6&clientId=417&RQT=309&VName=PQD

This page was last updated on 01/31/2011 11:59 AM

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