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Tell Me A Story: Promoting resiliency in military children with a bibliotherapy intervention
Author(s) -
Conover Katherine Marie
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nursing forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.618
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1744-6198
pISSN - 0029-6473
DOI - 10.1111/nuf.12449
Subject(s) - intervention (counseling) , bibliotherapy , psychological intervention , psychology , clinical psychology , active duty , military personnel , developmental psychology , psychiatry , political science , law
Purpose Research demonstrates the complex effect of the military lifestyle on children of military members. Problem behaviors can manifest in military children as young as 6 years old (eg, physical violence). Some military children have better outcomes (ie, resiliency). These differences in outcomes are not fully understood; literature agrees that parent's interaction with their children predicts resiliency. Nurses can utilize resiliency interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of families. Tell Me A Story (TMAS), a bibliotherapy intervention, role models for parents reading with their children, using story as a platform to deal with issues in a safe way. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if child resiliency increased and problem behavior decreased with TMAS participation. Design and Methods A community‐based study examined the impact of TMAS intervention on parent's perceptions of their school‐aged children's behavior. Participants were active‐duty military parents, recruited on or near seven military installations in the continental United States. Results Child problem behavior showed a change from baseline, with sex and parental deployment factoring for improved or worsening behavior among children. Total and internalizing problem behavior scores increased after intervention if a parent was deployed. Girls experienced increased resiliency scores after TMAS intervention while boys experienced decreased scores. Practice Implications Overall, TMAS intervention is beneficial for behavior and resiliency for some children and provides research for future programming offered by nurses for military families.