Experiences of Adolescents Participating in Operation: Military Kids (OMK)

Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of adolescents who were participants with the support organization Operation: Military Kids (OMK). Individual interviews with adolescents were conducted and analyzed in order to identify major themes described by military adolescents in relation to their personal and family dynamics and experience with OMK. Through inductive analysis (Thomas, 2006), four key themes of military adolescent experiences emerged. The current study examined the major themes of deployment, family relationships, personal growth, and support and survival to better understand issues facing youth in military families. Findings show, overall, that these adolescents face unique stressors, including the expectation to adapt to mature roles within the family, while facing the normal developmental challenges of adolescence. It was found that participants were very satisfied with programming offered by OMK, and found the most value in having access to a supportive and understanding community of people with similar experiences.