Abstracts Sociology

Parents’ Reported Utilization, Accessibility, and Effectiveness of Academic Support Resources for Military Adolescents at Fort Hood Military Base

by Dana Dean Booker

Academic support resources are increasingly available to military-connected youth; however, the military community, in general, tends to under-utilize available resources. The research literature has not clearly identified accessibility to military academic support resources or perceived effectiveness of resources as explanations for under-utilization of adolescent support services. The current research study examines military parents' perceptions of academic resource programs looking at how parents' perception of resource accessibility and resource effectiveness were related to program utilization. Based on qualitative analysis of military parent interviews, utilization was related to both accessibility and effectiveness. This research adds to the literature by identifying the relationship to between accessibility and utilization and reported effectiveness and utilization of academic support resources. Advisors/Committee Members: Middlemiss, Wendy, Tashakkori, Abbas, Jacobson, Arminta, Mehta, Smita.