European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 24, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday. July 24,1986 the stars and stripes page3 military families handle stress Well study by 3 army doctors concludes by Clint Swift Washington Bureau Washington most military families experience some aspect of divorce alcoholism child abuse or other emotional trauma but relatively few Are severely affected a study in the journal of the american Academy of child psychiatrists concludes. The article by three army doctors says the Impact of stress on service families May be diluted by a potentially supportive military network and by personnel procedures that screen severely affected people from the defense Community. The article that appeared in March reviews 40 years of medical literature on How stress affects military families. The main conclusion by drs. Maj Peter Jensen col Rone Lewis and u. Col Stephen Xenakis is that Roo for much More and better research re Mains. A hard look at the Impact of a father s absence combat frequent moves authoritarian environment and Cross cultural marriages on the military family suggests that much of the effect May be the result of factors outside Mil itary life the researchers found. Some of the findings divorce. The incidence of divorce Likely is lower in military than civilian  but the studies examined could not Rule out that Edu cation or income were the real factors behind the differences in divorce rates. The researchers also said the occasional separations that Are built into the military system May defuse stressed  abuse. The incidence of child abuse May be higher in the military when similar families Are compared. The income of abusing families in the military is Likely to be higher because there is no unemployment but when measured against civilian families of All types abuse is probably less frequent in the military. Alcoholism. The prevalence of alcoholism is very substantial in the military the doctors found. The num Ber of military members who drink on at least a monthly basis is slightly higher than in the civilian population but the percentage has grown since 1980. On the other hand the number of extremely heavy drinkers and drug Abus cars has dropped probably due to Active prevention and education efforts. Absence. The longer a father s absence the More Likely wives and sons were to be affected and the More last ing the effect was Likely to be. Some wives became  and some sons tended to be immature with poor relations with their Peers handsome problems with masculine identification. Daughters were less affected. On the other hand there was some evidence that absences helped children least to Cope and the researchers said More study was needed to separate the effects of absences from the effects of age sex other children in the family and How the Mother handled the father s absence. There also was evidence that families that coped Well with a father s absence found it More difficult to integrate him Back into the group when he resumed. Combat. Wives Likely suffer significant problems when husbands arc exposed to dangerous combat situations the researchers said. But they said that the studies involved failed to compare those wives with women whose husbands were away for non combat Tours. Men who were prisoners of War often underwent significant changes and 30 percent of their marriages failed during their first year Home. Mow Well the family fared seemed to be related to the length and Quality of the marriage before Captivity the number of children How severely the wife was affected and How Well the father s role in the family was maintained. Moves. The challenges of relocation May actually represent growth opportunities and increase coping Capaci ties for most military  one study found that a Soldier s perception of the hardship of a move was related to the number of children the Cost of the move time spent waiting for a House and expectations about the new assignment. Another study found that moves usually Don t create problems As much As exaggerate existing ones Caus ing people to seek help at the time of a move. Military life presents families with unique challenges the researchers said. Their responses Are Likely to be a function of previous life experiences the intensity of the stress that service life puts on them the availability of social supports socioeconomic status How the family feels about the experience and individual and family ability to Cope. Bolivians upset about . Presence la Paz Bolivia Dpi Lack of Public support and an inability to find cocaine processing plants Are hampering drug raids mounted by bolivian and . Forces diplomats and government officials say. And As the raids were blocked by Strong winds and rain for a third straight Day tuesday Bolivia asked the United states to give it aircraft similar to the six army Blackhawk assault helicopters now being used in the raids. In a Trinidad news conference. Interior minister Fernando Barthelemy revealed the request but said Bolivia has not received an answer from Washington. In the capital of la Paz Bolivia s information ministry issued a blistering attack on Media in the country and the United states for what it called irresponsible reporting about the joint narcotics raids. The .-bolivian drug raids Are police operations the statement said and not the armed military intervention that some Media in the United states have alleged. But Many bolivians Are angry about the . Mili tary presence and . Troops and .-fmanced bolivian narcotics police Are haying Little apparent Suc Cess in finding cocaine processing facilities. Unhappiness with the . Military role is also put Ting pressure on bolivian president Victor Paz Estens Soro one of the United states strongest allies in South America. Foreign diplomats and bolivian authorities in la Paz said that official statements about the Success of the joint operations mask concern about the tensions the raids have created. A High ranking bolivian official involved in the raids described the mood in the . Embassy and in the government Quemado Palace three blocks away As  he. Like others who were interviewed declined to be identified. About 170  soldiers and six Blackhawk helicopters arrived in Bolivia last week to join the .-fi danced bolivian leopards strike Force in what authorities said would be the biggest blow to cocaine trafficking in the nation s history. While . Soldiers most of them technicians were taking part in the joint narcotics raids the troops Are not participating in ground raids on cocaine laboratories according to Gen. James Taylor Leader of the . Forces in Bolivia and commander of the 193rd inf based in Panama. He declined to say How Long the . Troops would Blivian anti narcotics officers Lead a cocaine tray Licking suspect across the Yapa Cani River monday. Be in Bolivia. Publicly . And bolivian authorities say the joint narcotics operations have temporarily brought Bolivia a s $2 billion a year cocaine Industry to a halt. Bolivia is the world s second largest producer of the coca Plant. While the plan May bring positive results . Officials have neither fully comprehended the depth of insistence to the  military presence nor the resilience of Bolivia s cocaine Industry the bolivian offi Cial said. In Beni province in Eastern Bolivia where the . Soldiers Are based residents often have bitter words about the raids. A taxi Driver in Trinidad capital of the province said it will be really serious if the gringos kill a local because we Are going to react and there will be Vio  while the United states risks violence with the raids it also risks offending members of Bolivia s armed forces who see the . Presence As highlighting their inability to handle a military operation a West Ern european Diplomat said. Meanwhile the raids Are widely perceived As failing. Since they began last Friday authorities have captured one Large cocaine Laboratory and mistakenly raided three cattle ranches. Some bolivians fear the Lack of evident Success May Lead the United states to expand its military presence