Skip to main content

Parenting and the Military: The Case of Israel

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Parenting and Children's Resilience in Military Families

Abstract

The current chapter reviews the existing research on three aspects of parenting and the military in Israel: parenting of young soldiers; career military service and its effects on parenting; and the effects of PTSD on parenting, taking into account the unique cultural, social and political characteristics of Israel. The chapter’s first section sheds light on parents of soldiers in compulsory service, and highlights the adjustment and contribution of both parent and child to this transition. The second section, which addresses career military service and its effects on parenting, explores the ways in which separation factors, contextual factors and the adaptation of families during temporary parental absences manifest themselves in the Israeli context. The chapter’s third section explores the path by which PTSD symptom clusters may impact aspects of the parent-child relationship, with a focus on the Israeli context. Discussion: Common aspects of the three situations and differences that exist between the Israeli context and mainly the American context are discussed in an attempt to guide future directions for research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    *Studies done in Israel.

References

*Studies done in Israel.

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anavi, O. (2012). Between military and fatherhood: Perceptions of masculinity of IDF combat fathers. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Bar Ilan, Ramat Gan, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Andres, M. D., & Moelker, R. (2010). There and back again: How parental experiences affect children’s adjustments in the course of military deployments. Armed Forces & Society, 37(3), 418–447. doi:10.1177/0095327X10390461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Barda Keinan, M. (2006). Narratives of Trauma as predicting PTSD pathology. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Bar Ilan, Ramat Gan, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • *Belenky, G. L., Noy, S., Solomon, Z., & Del Jones, F. (1985). Psychiatric casualties (Battle Shock) in Israeli defense forces in the war in Lebanon June-September 1982. In K. Pichot, P. Berner, P. Thau (Eds.), Psychiatry (pp. 479–484). New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellou, V., & Gkousgkounis, G. (2014). Spouse and service related antecedents of officers’ commitment: The case of the Greek Army. Armed Forces & Society, 41(3), 440–459. doi:10.1177/0095327X13514226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Ben-Ari, E. (2001). Test of soldierhood, trails of manhood: Military service and male ideals in Israel. In D. Maman, E. Ben-Ari, & Z. Rosenhek (Eds.), Military, state, and society in Israel: Theoretical & comparative perspectives (pp. 239–267). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

    Google Scholar 

  • Booth, B., Segal, M. W., Bell, D. B., Martin, J. A., Ender, M. G., Rohall, D. E., & Nelson, J. (2007). What we know about army families 2007 update. Prepared for the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command by Caliber. Retrieved from http://tapartnership.org/enterprise/docs/RESOURCE%20BANK/RB-FAMILY-DRIVEN%20APPROACHES/General%20Resources/What_We_Know_about_Army_Families_2007.pdf.

  • Boričević Maršanić, V., Margetić, B. A., Zečević, I., & Herceg, M. (2013). The prevalence and psychosocial correlates of suicide attempts among inpatient adolescent offspring of Croatian PTSD male war veterans. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 45(5), 577–587. doi:10.1007/s10578-013-0426-2.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Candioty, R. (2011). Duration of absence from home and attachment parrents of IDF career soldiers as predictors of perception of parental functioning and role distribution in the family. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Bar Ilan, Ramat Gan, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • *Cohen, E., Zerach, G., & Solomon, Z. (2011). The implication of combat-induced stress reaction, PTSD, and attachment in parenting among war veterans. Journal of Family Psychology, 25(5), 688–698. doi:10.1037/a0024065.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Cohen, S. A. (2007). Tensions between military service and Jewish orthodoxy in Israel: Implications imagined and real. Israel Studies, 12(1), 103–126. doi:10.2979/ISR.2007.12.1.103.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Cohen., O. (2003). The Israeli family. In J. J. Ponzetti (Ed.), International encyclopedia of marriage and family. New York, NY: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, J. M., Riggs, D. S., Thompson, R., Coyne, J. C., & Sheikh, J. I. (2004). Posttraumatic stress disorder and current relationship functioning among World War II ex-prisoners of war. Journal of Family Psychology, 18(1), 36–45. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.18.1.36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coser, A. (1974). Greedy institutions: Patterns of undivided commitment. New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig, L. (2006). Does father care mean fathers share? A comparison of how mothers and fathers in intact families spend time with children. Gender & Society, 20(2), 259–281. doi:10.1177/0891243205285212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Creamer, M., Wade, D., Fletcher, S., & Forbes, D. (2011). PTSD among military personnel. International Review of Psychiatry, 23(2), 160–165. doi:10.3109/09540261.2011.559456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, A. C., & Mellor, D. J. (2000). The adjustment of children of Australian Vietnam veterans is there evidence for transgenerational transmission of the effects of war-related trauma. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35(3), 345–351. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1614.2001.00897.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Dekel, R., & Goldblatt, H. (2008). Is there intergenerational transmission of trauma? The case of combat veterans’ children. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 78(3), 281–289. doi:10.1037/a0013955.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Dekel, R., Solomon, Z., & Bleich, A. (2002). Assessment of social disability and its contribution to evaluation of mental disability among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder. In A. Bleich & Z. Solomon (Eds.), Mental disability: Medical research, social, legal, and rehabilitation aspects (pp. 72–93). Jerusalem, Israel: Ministry of Defence.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Dinshtein, Y., Dekel, R., & Polliack, M. (2011). Secondary traumatization among adult children of PTSD veterans: The role of mother-child relationships. Journal of Family Social Work, 14(2), 109–124. doi:10.1080/10522158.2011.544021.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Engel, G. (2001). The relationship between adult attachment style of paternal involvement. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Bar Ilan, Ramat Gan, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • *Eran-Jona, M. (2006). Between two demanding institutions: The military career from the eyes of the family. Center for Behavioral Sciences: Research Section Career Military, IDF (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • *Eran-Jona, M. (2010). Married to the military: Military-family relations in the Israel Defense Forces. Armed Forces & Society, 37(1), 19–41. doi:10.1177/0095327X10379729.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Eran-Jona, M. (2013). “New” fathers “old” organization? Combat officers in between military career and fatherhood. Journal of Gender and Feminism, 2, 1–26 (Hebrew). Retrieved from http://blogdebate.org/gender/journal/%​D7%9E%D7%99%D7%98%D7%9C-%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%9F-%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%94-%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%92%D7%95%D7%9F-%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%9F-%D7%90%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%97%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%A7/.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Eran-Jona, M. (2015). Organizational culture and military families: The case of combat officers in the Israeli Defence Force. In R. Moelker, M. Andres, G. Bowen, & P. Manigart (Eds.), Military families and war in the 21st century: Comparative perspectives (pp. 43–56). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Erlich, M. (2014). Parenthood as perceived in the life stories of past prisoners of war. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Bar Ilan, Ramat Gan, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, L., McHugh, T., Hopwood, M., & Watt, C. (2003). Chronic posttraumatic stress disorder and family functioning of Vietnam veterans and their partners. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 37(6), 765–772. doi:10.1080/j.1440-1614.2003.01267.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Figley, C. R. (1995). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. New York, NY: Brunner/Mazel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, E. P., Sherman, M. D., Han, X., & Owen, R. R. (2013). Outcomes of participation in the REACH multifamily group program for veterans with PTSD and their families. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 44(3), 127–134. doi:10.1037/a0032024.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Hoffman, Y. S. G., Diamond, G. M., & Lipsitz, J. D. (2011). The challenge of estimating PTSD prevalence in the context of ongoing trauma: The example of Israel during the Second Intifada. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25(6), 788–793. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.03.016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karney, B. R., Loughran, D. S., & Pollard, M. S. (2012). Comparing marital status and divorce status in civilian and military populations. Journal of Family Issues, 33(12), 1572–1594. doi:10.1177/0192513X12439690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Lavee, Y., & Ruth, K. (2003). The family in Israel: Between tradition and modernity. Marriage & Family Review, 35(1–2), 37–41. doi:10.1300/J002v35n01.

  • *Levinson, D., Zilber, N., Lerner, Y., Grinshpoon, A., & Levav, I. (2007). Prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in the community: Results from the Israel national health survey. Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 44(2), 94–103. Retrieved from http://allergy.doctorsonly.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2007_2_4.pdf.

  • *Lieblich, A. (1989). Transition to adulthood during military service: The Israeli case. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Lomranz, J., Shmotkin, D., Eyal, N., & Zohar, Y. (1996). Launching themes in Israeli fathers and mothers. Journal of Adult Development, 3(3), 159–170. doi:10.1007/BF02285776.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Manor, D., Amram-Katz, S., Lerrer, Z., & Makani, E. (2007). Torn between obligations: The cult of suffering and family among career male officers and female officers. Tel Aviv, Israel: Advisor to the chief of the General Staff on woman’s issues (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • *Mayseless, O. (2002). Young Israeli men in the transition from adolescence to adulthood: The role of military service. Studies in Education, 5, 159–190. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/23394060?&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.

  • *Mayseless, O., & Hai, I. (1998). Leaving-home transition in Israel: Changes in parents adolescents relationships and adaptation to military service. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 22, 589–609. doi:10.1080/016502598384289.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Mayseless, O., & Scharf, M. (2003). What does it mean to be an adult? The Israeli experience. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2003(100), 5–20. doi:10.1002/cd.71

    Google Scholar 

  • *Mayseless, O., Scharf, M., & Sholt, M. (2003). From authoritative parenting practices to an authoritarian context: Exploring the person-environment fit. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(4), 427–456. doi:10.1046/j.1532-7795.2003.01304002.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monson, C. M., Fredman, S. J., Dekel, R., & Macdonald, A. (2012). Family models of posttraumatic stress disorder. In J. G. Beck & D. M. Sloan (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of traumatic stress disorders (pp. 219–232). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195399066.013.0015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monson, C. M., Fredman, S. J., & Taft, C. T. (2011). Couple and family issues and interventions for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In J. I. Ruzek, P. P. Schnurr, J. J. Vasterling, & M. J. Friedman (Eds.), Caring for veterans with deployment-related stress disorders (pp. 151–169). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/12323-007.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • *Noy, S., Nardi, C., & Solomon, Z. (1986). Battle and military unit characteristics and the prevalence of psychiatric casualties. In N. A. Milgram & C. R. Figley (Eds.), Stress and coping in time of war: Generalizations from the Israeli experience (pp. 73–77). New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paley, B., Lester, P., & Mogil, C. (2013). Family systems and ecological perspectives on the impact of deployment on military families. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 16(3), 245–265. doi:10.1007/s10567-013-0138-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, C. (2008). A theory of risk and resilience factors in military families. Military Psychology, 20, 205–217. doi:10.1080/08995600802118858.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, N. (2011). Military children and families: Strengths and challenges during peace and war. American Psychologist, 66(1), 65. doi:10.1037/a0021249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Rabin, C., & Nardi, C. (1991). Treating post traumatic stress disorder couples: A psychoeducational program. Community Mental Health Journal, 27(3), 209–224. doi:10.1007/BF00752422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, L. K., Frueh, B. C., & Acierno, R. (2010). Prevalence estimates of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder: Critical review. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 44, 4–19. doi:10.3109/00048670903393597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riggs, S. A., & Riggs, D. S. (2011). Risk and resilience in military families experiencing deployment: The role of the family attachment network. Journal of Family Psychology, 25(5), 675–687. doi:10.1037/a0025286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez, A. J., & Margolin, G. (2014). Parental incarceration, transnational migration, and military deployment: Family process mechanisms of youth adjustment to temporary parent absence. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 18, 24–49. doi:10.1007/s10567-014-0176-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenheck, R., & Nathan, P. (1985). Secondary traumatization in children of Vietnam veterans. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 36(5), 538–539.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. H. (1994). Beyond individualism collectivism—new cultural dimensions of values. In U. Kim, H. C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi, C. Choi, & G. Yoon (Eds.), Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method and applications (pp. 85–122). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segal, M. W. (1986). The military and the family as greedy institutions. Armed Forces & Society, 13(1), 9–38. doi:10.1177/0095327X8601300101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Shalom-Gilad, I. (1998). Separation-Anxiety among adolescent recruiting to IDF and their parents. Unpublished master’s thesis, Tel Aviv University, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, M. D., Perlick, D. A., & Straits-Tröster, K. (2012). Adapting the multifamily group model for treating veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological Services, 9(4), 349–360. doi:10.1037/a0028963.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Shoham, H. (2014). You can’t pick your family: Celebrating Israeli familism around the seder table. Journal of Family History, 39(3), 239–260. doi:10.1177/0363199014532323.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Solomon, Z., Debby-Aharon, S., Zerach, G., & Horesh, D. (2011). Marital adjustment, parental functioning, and emotional sharing in war veterans. Journal of Family Issues, 32, 127–147. doi:10.1177/0192513X10379203.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Solomon, Z., & Horesh, D. (2007). Changes in diagnostic criteria of PTSD: Implications from two prospective longitudinal studies. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77, 182–188. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.77.2.182.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Spiro, S. E., Shalev, A., Solomon, Z., & Kotler, M. (1989). Self-reported change versus changed self-report: Contradictory findings of an evaluation of a treatment program for war veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Evaluation Review, 13(5), 533–549. doi:10.1177/0193841X8901300505.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M. B., & Paulus, M. P. (2009). Imbalance of approach and avoidance: The yin and yang of anxiety disorders. Biological Psychiatry, 66(12), 1072–1074. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.09.023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taft, C. T., Schumm, J. A., Panuzio, J., & Proctor, S. P. (2008). An examination of family adjustment among operation desert storm veterans. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(4), 648–656. doi:10.1037/a0012576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Wintre, M. G., & Ben-Knaz, R. (2000). It’s not academic, you’re in the army now: Adjustment to the army as a comparative context for adjustment to university. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15(1), 145–172. doi:10.1177/0743558400151008.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Yechezkel, D., & Kimhi, S. (2001). Military service and self-perceived maturation among Israeli youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30(4), 427–448. doi:10.1023/A:1010493116011.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Yehuda, R., Blair, W., Labinsky, E., & Bierer, L. M. (2007). Effects of parental PTSD on the cortisol response to dexamethasone administration in their adult offspring. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164(1), 163–166. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.164.1.163.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Zerach, G. (2014a). Secondary growth among former prisoners of war’s adult children: The result of exposure to stress, secondary traumatization, or personality traits? Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 7, 313–323.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Zerach, G. (2014b). Secondary traumatization among Ex-POWs ‘adult children’: The mediating role of differentiation of the self. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 7(2), 187–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Zerach, G., Greene, T., Ein-Dor, T., & Solomon, Z. (2012). The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and paternal parenting of adult children among ex-prisoners of war: A longitudinal study. Journal of Family Psychology, 26(2), 274–284. doi:10.1037/a0027159.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rachel Dekel Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Dekel, R., Tuval-Mashiach, R., Sadeh, Y. (2016). Parenting and the Military: The Case of Israel. In: Gewirtz, A., Youssef, A. (eds) Parenting and Children's Resilience in Military Families. Risk and Resilience in Military and Veteran Families. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12556-5_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12556-5_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12555-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12556-5

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics