Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans’ Experiences Living with their Parents after Separation from the Military

When military service members separate from the military, many return to their families of origin, living with their parents
for a period of several weeks to years. While research with veterans and their spouses has documented the particular strain
of this reintegration period on veterans and their partners, little research to date has examined veterans’ experiences living
with their parents. The present study sought to fill this research gap by investigating veterans’ experiences living with
their parents using qualitative, in-depth interviews with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in California. Overall, veterans appreciated
the instrumental and emotional support their parents provided when they separated. However, in some cases, living with parents
also produced conflict and strain. In situations where adult veteran children had difficulty with the transition to civilian
life or returned with mental health problems, parents were often the first to identify these problems and to support their
children in accessing appropriate care. We analyze these findings in light of family systems theory, identifying ways in which
adult veteran children continue a process of differentiation while living with their parents and maintaining emotional connectedness.
We suggest ways that clinicians can better support veterans and their parents through the reintegration period and recommend
that programming for military families explicitly include parents of service members in addition to conjugal families.