Academy Transitions Amid Soldiery Teenagers: Stress and Coping - Article Example

Running Head: Research Critique Research critique of an article titled: School transitions among military adolescents: A qualitative study of stress and coping. School Psychology Review, 39(1), 84-105. By Bradshaw, C. P., Sudhinaraset, M., Mari, K., & Blum, R. W. (2010). Name Course Institution Instructor’s name Date Research topic Several studies on highly mobile military adolescents carried out prior to the study under critique have had mixed findings (Russo & Fallon, 2001). Descriptive studies indicated that such individuals exhibited military family syndrome. Recent quantitative studies have however identified few negative effects. Contrary to previous studies, which were carried out in peacetime, this study was carried out during conflict times (Lasser & Adams, 2007). Thus, the findings of the study might be a reflection of today’s mobile military students whose parents are increasingly facing deployment (Mmari, Bradshaw, Sudhinaraset, & Blum, 2010). In addition, this study used qualitative method to carry out the study unlike previous studies, which used quantitative methods (Nansook, 2011). The study found out that the frequent moves and school transitions had a significant emotional toll on the students and their entire family. The study also found out that military students were concerned about the privacy of what they discuss with other people as it pertain their stress. As such, they were willing to discuss with their peer facing the same problems rather than disclose to school psychologists who often never kept such matters secret. The study also found out that extracurricular activities or peer-to-peer programs helped such students to integrate in their new schools (Russo & Fallon, 2001). Just like previous studies, this study found that the mobile military students had developed some coping strategies that helped them to adjust to the new school environment. It also indicated that frequent moves might have become normative events for military families just as previous studies had indicated (Mmari et al., 2010). Contrary to previous quantitative studies, which had suggested that military related moves might not increase the likelihood of adverse mental or educational consequences for military students, the findings of this suggest otherwise for today’s military students for whom the threat of parental deployment is significantly increased. The ethical aspects of the study In qualitative research, three research ethics need to be observed, namely persons participating in the research need to be respected, minimization of risk to the participants and being just. Respecting participants ensures that participation is voluntary and autonomous. This study observed this principle and hence there was no deception to lure participants to participate in the study. All participants were informed in writing that the purpose of the study was to learn more about mobile military students, their experiences transitioning between schools and different ways schools can support mobile military students (Lasser & Adams, 2007). The adult participants provided written informed consent and students provided written youth assent and written parental consent. The authors of the article do not indicate whether they informed their participants of any risks that could have arisen during the study and the duration of the subject’s participation. Prior to carrying out the study, the study protocol was approved by the authors’ institutional review board to ensure that the study was being undertaken in an ethical manner. Even though this research had no risks, all facilitators and note-takers held doctorates or master’s degrees in public health or mental health and had participated in two all-day training sessions, which prepared them to identify and respond to mental health concerns if they arise during the sessions. Even though no participant appeared emotionally distressed during the sessions and no intervention was required during or immediately following the sessions, all participants were debriefed at the end of the sessions and were provided written information regarding support services available on the base (Russo & Fallon, 2001). This was appropriate because the subjects were able to know where to get help in case they needed it. In order to be consistent with the peer debriefing strategy, preliminary findings were presented and discussed among all focus group facilitators, note-takers and the lead researchers and were shared with the department of Defence contact in an effort to verify the interpretation of the data. Being just ensures that risks and benefits resulting from the study are well distributed (Russo & Fallon, 2001). This implies that any knowledge resulting from the research need to benefit the participants of the study. In this study the information regarding mobile military students, their experiences transitioning between schools and different ways schools can support mobile military students is bound to benefit the mobile military students, their parents and school staff who participated in the study. Strengths, limitations and suggestions Strengths This study is credible. The conclusions of this study were largely credible because the three different focus groups were created at each military base that participated in the study. One of the focus group was made up of the mobile military students, the other was made up of the military students’ parents and the third was made up of the school staff (Lasser & Adams, 2007). The results from the three focus groups were consistent with one another. This shows the credibility of the study. In addition, the conclusion, which was made, was not biased since it points out all the shortcomings of the study that need to be addressed in future studies. The authors of the study also note the shortcomings of their research as having note considered randomization of samples and instead concentrating on military bases known to have hive mobility of military students. Thus, the team that was involved in the study is reliable and hence we can say that the research was credible. The credibility of the study is further strengthened by the fact that data collection in each focus group was done by two individuals independently and their data was relatively similar. This research was auditable. This research is auditable because it clearly outlines the research question. The research question of the study was description of the transition related stressors experienced by mobile military students; description of the efforts employed to help these students cope with their stress; and identification of strategies that schools can use to ease the transition process for mobile military students. This is the guiding theme throughout the data collection and analysis (Lasser & Adams, 2007). The conclusions made are also related to this research question and thus the research is auditable. Another strength of the study is that the author offers implications of the research for practical purposes. The authors outline several implications of their study especially for school psychologists (Lasser & Adams, 2007). For instance, the finding that students are interested in student-to-student programs and supports suggest that it would be advantageous to help new military students to connect with other military students prior to arriving at the school and once they arrive. The findings also indicate that military students were less aware of the school psychologists as potential sources of support and thus school psychologists and administrators should work to increase the visibility of these resources for military students. Limitations and Suggestions One of the limitations of the study is lack of randomization of recruitment locations. Randomization eliminates biasness and confounding error that result from recruitment of participants (Graham & Kevin, 2005). Thus, the findings of the study may be suffering from biasness and confounding errors. The authors have acknowledged the lack of randomization in their study and justified their choice of locations from which study participants were recruited. Another limitation of the study is inability to distinguish the stress-affecting students whose parents have been deployed from those who just move from one base to another. This could have significantly affected the results of the study (Russo & Fallon, 2001). Thus, sampling procedure had some errors (Sher-Censor & Oppenheim, 2010). By grouping these two groups together, the conclusion of the findings may not be true because as expected students whose parents have been deployed may be exposed to more stress than those whose parents have been transferred to another base. The authors have also acknowledged this limitation and suggested that further research need to be undertaken in this area. Data collection employed in the study is also a limitation of the study. The authors’ decision to single handily use focus group to collect data in the study raises some issues on the reliability of the data collected. This is because focus groups are conducted in unnatural social setting and thus the moderator may influence responses that might be different in a more natural setting. This limitation could have been avoided by using other methods such as interviews and observation. The authors justify the use of focus groups since they argue that their study was only exploratory. However, they suggest that future studies in the area need to incorporate interviews. Design Qualitative design was the best approach for this study because previous studies in the same area had employed quantitative studies and thus the results of this design needed to be compared to previous findings of quantitative studies (Russo & Fallon, 2001). Even though the focus group methodology was justifiable due to its advantage of trying to elicit local, subjective perspectives of cultural insiders about the topic in question and of allowing flexibility to pursue themes that may emerge as the research progresses, other methodologies such as surveys, interviews and observations could have enhanced the reliability of the study (Graham & Kevin, 2005). The authors have provided in-depth description of their study design. The researchers tried to avoid biasness during data collection process by having two independent note-takers carrying out data collection in each focus group (Lasser & Adams, 2007). Participants Even though the authors tell us that the bases were purposefully selected, they do not tell us how participants in each base were selected. The sampling plan could have enhanced by carrying out randomized sampling of military students in the bases selected. One of the biases among participants is that, there was no equal representation from different grades involved in the research, with most of the participants coming from grade 12 with 20.5% and grade 6 with 5.0%. Another bias is that most participating parents were female (71%). The setting was appropriate for investigating the research question because it is in the military bases that such students are likely to be found. The method used to choose the participants is not specified. We cannot also tell whether the sample size was adequate because we do not know the total population of such students in the chosen bases. Data quality and collection The data collected was valid. Given that the findings of the data matched some of the findings o0f previous related studies which employed qualitative studies is an indication of the validity of data collected (Graham & Kevin, 2005). The use of three different focus groups with different characteristics and the similarities of data obtained from them is also an indication of validity of the data collected. Data was collected by use of focus groups, which were audiotape recorded and transcribed by a transcriber not affiliated with the research study (Russo & Fallon, 2001). The reliability of transcription was ascertained by selecting a random sample of five focus group tapes that were transcribed by a member of the research team and comparing it to the original transcriptions. There was no biasness in the collection of data. The data was gathered in military bases, which were chosen through purposive sampling method. Only data collectors and study participants in the focus group were present during data collection. Undue burden was not placed on participants during data collection process. The data collected is trustworthy because different participants (students, parents and staff) were employed in collection process. The researchers enhanced credibility of the data by having three different focus groups at each military base that participated in the study. The data was also transcribed by a person not affiliated to the study. In addition, two different research teams collected the data following the same procedure and detailed notes were taken during the sessions to establish audit trail. Data analysis We are not told whether the results of the statistical tests were significant or non-significant. However, the results were related back to the research questions (Russo & Fallon, 2001). Themes that emerged from the data included perceived stressors. They include stress on the family system, stress on the students’ social support system, adapting to a new context and environment. Other challenges entail academic challenges, student/teacher relationships, and missed opportunities for extracurricular activities. Efforts to cope with stress such as adapting to transitions, accelerated maturation, connecting students with teachers and school staff, participating in extracurricular activities, and connecting with other military students and families as well as strategies to ease the transition process. For instance, increased communication between schools and with families, provision of training for teachers, school psychologists and other staff on strategies for connecting with military students, fostering connections among students, and altering school policies and procedures to support military students are other challenges. These results adequately described the phenomenon under study (Lasser & Adams, 2007). Summary of research critique The study found out that the frequent moves and school transitions had a significant emotional toll on the students and their entire family. The study also found out that military students were concerned about the privacy of what they discuss with other people as it pertain their stress. Contrary to previous studies which were carried out in peacetime, this study was carried out during conflict times and thus it might be a reflection of today’s mobile military students. The study addressed ethical issues adequately. The study was credible, auditable and authors were able to provide the implications of their study for practical purposes. The study was however limited by lack of randomization of recruitment locations, inability to group participants in accordance to whether deployed or not; and lack of employment of various methods of data collection and instead relying on focus group. Qualitative design was the best approach for this study because previous studies in the same area had employed quantitative studies and thus the results of this design needed to be compared to previous findings of quantitative studies. Even though the authors tell us that the bases were purposefully selected, they do not tell us how participants in each base were selected. The sampling plan could have enhanced by carrying out randomized sampling of military students in the bases selected. The data collected was valid. The reliability of transcription was ascertained by selecting a random sample of five focus group tapes that were transcribed by a member of the research team and comparing it to the original transcriptions. The researchers enhanced credibility of the data by having three different focus groups at each military base that participated in the study. Themes that emerged from the data included perceived stressors; efforts to cope with the stress; and strategies to ease the transition process. References Graham, W., & Kevin, W. (2005). Geographic relocation frequency, resilience, and military adolescent behaviour. AMSUS - Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S., 170(7), 638-642. Lasser, J., & Adams, K. (2007). The effects of war on children: School psychologists’ role and function. School Psychology International, 28(1), 5-10. Mmari, K., Bradshaw, C., Sudhinaraset, M., & Blum, R. (2010). Exploring the role of social connectedness among military youth: Perceptions from youth, parents, and school personnel. Child and Youth Care Forum, 39(5), 351-366. Nansook, P. (2011). Military children and families: Strengths and challenges during peace and war. American Psychologist, 66(1), 65-72. Russo, T., & Fallon, M. (2001). Helping military families who have a child with a disability cope with stress. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(1), 3-8. Sher-Censor, E., & Oppenheim, D. (2010). Adjustment of female adolescents leaving home for the military: Links with earlier individuation. Journal of Adolescence, 33(5), 625-632. Read More

Even though this research had no risks, all facilitators and note-takers held doctorates or master’s degrees in public health or mental health and had participated in two all-day training sessions, which prepared them to identify and respond to mental health concerns if they arise during the sessions. Even though no participant appeared emotionally distressed during the sessions and no intervention was required during or immediately following the sessions, all participants were debriefed at the end of the sessions and were provided written information regarding support services available on the base (Russo & Fallon, 2001).

This was appropriate because the subjects were able to know where to get help in case they needed it. In order to be consistent with the peer debriefing strategy, preliminary findings were presented and discussed among all focus group facilitators, note-takers and the lead researchers and were shared with the department of Defence contact in an effort to verify the interpretation of the data. Being just ensures that risks and benefits resulting from the study are well distributed (Russo & Fallon, 2001).

This implies that any knowledge resulting from the research need to benefit the participants of the study. In this study the information regarding mobile military students, their experiences transitioning between schools and different ways schools can support mobile military students is bound to benefit the mobile military students, their parents and school staff who participated in the study. Strengths, limitations and suggestions Strengths This study is credible. The conclusions of this study were largely credible because the three different focus groups were created at each military base that participated in the study.

One of the focus group was made up of the mobile military students, the other was made up of the military students’ parents and the third was made up of the school staff (Lasser & Adams, 2007). The results from the three focus groups were consistent with one another. This shows the credibility of the study. In addition, the conclusion, which was made, was not biased since it points out all the shortcomings of the study that need to be addressed in future studies. The authors of the study also note the shortcomings of their research as having note considered randomization of samples and instead concentrating on military bases known to have hive mobility of military students.

Thus, the team that was involved in the study is reliable and hence we can say that the research was credible. The credibility of the study is further strengthened by the fact that data collection in each focus group was done by two individuals independently and their data was relatively similar. This research was auditable. This research is auditable because it clearly outlines the research question. The research question of the study was description of the transition related stressors experienced by mobile military students; description of the efforts employed to help these students cope with their stress; and identification of strategies that schools can use to ease the transition process for mobile military students.

This is the guiding theme throughout the data collection and analysis (Lasser & Adams, 2007). The conclusions made are also related to this research question and thus the research is auditable. Another strength of the study is that the author offers implications of the research for practical purposes. The authors outline several implications of their study especially for school psychologists (Lasser & Adams, 2007). For instance, the finding that students are interested in student-to-student programs and supports suggest that it would be advantageous to help new military students to connect with other military students prior to arriving at the school and once they arrive.

The findings also indicate that military students were less aware of the school psychologists as potential sources of support and thus school psychologists and administrators should work to increase the visibility of these resources for military students.

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