Assessing Operation Purple : a program evaluation of a summer camp for military youth / Anita Chandra [et al.] ; sponsored by the National Military Family Association.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Center for Military Health Policy Research.

National Military Family Association (U.S.)

Chandra, Anita.

Series:

Technical report (Rand Corporation)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Children of military personnel--United States--Psychology.

Children of military personnel.

Camps--United States--Evaluation.

Camps.

Children of military personnel--Mental health--United States.

Children of military personnel--Services for--United States.

Families of military personnel--Services for--United States.

Families of military personnel.

Deployment (Strategy)--Social aspects--United States.

Deployment (Strategy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxv, 148 pages) : color illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : RAND Corporation, 2012.

Summary:

Parental military deployments pose a host of challenges for child and family well-being. Military family support programs have proliferated since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq a decade ago to address these emotional, social, and academic issues, but there has been little evaluation of whether these programs are meeting their key objectives. To help fill this gap, a RAND study team explored the curriculum, themes, and outcomes of Operation Purple, a free weeklong summer camp program for youth with a deployed parent. Using a quasi-experimental approach, the study incorporated youth and parent survey data (from both camp attendees and a control group of non-attendees) and camp after-action reports and visitor observation logs to determine whether there were differences between attendees and non-attendees in the four camp theme areas: comfort and skill in communicating about feelings, understanding and appreciation of military life, sense of service/stewardship, and outdoor education. The study also sought to determine how and to what extent the program's curriculum was implemented by participating camps in the summer of 2011. Despite limitations in the data (e.g., a non-random study sample, some variation in curriculum implementation across camps), the study found some positive effects from camp participation, particularly in communicating about feelings, as well as valuable youth and parent perspectives about camp, reflected in responses to open-ended questions. As such, it helps lay the groundwork for future investigation of similar support programs for military youth and their families.

Contents:

Introduction Methods Results Conclusions Appendix A: Parent and Youth Surveys Appendix B: Sample Weights Appendix C: Analytic Sample Characteristics Appendix D: Outcome Tables: Communication About Feelings Theme Appendix E: Outcome Tables: Military Culture Theme Appendix F: Outcome Tables: Sense of Service/Stewardship Theme Appendix G: Outcome Tables: Outdoor Education Theme

Notes:

"RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research."

"A Joint Endeavor of RAND Health and the RAND National Security Research Division.""The research was conducted jointly by RAND Health's Center for Military Health Policy Research and the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the RAND National Security Research Division"--Title page verso