In recent years, higher education has become an increasingly popular opportunity for many military-connected individuals (MCI’s). As more and more MCI’s enter into college, it is crucial to expand the currently limited understanding of how they transition from military into civilian life. One subgroup within the community are military adult children (MAC). MAC are the children of military service members (also commonly known as military dependents or “military brats”). As more MAC utilize benefits earned by their parents’ or guardians’ service to obtain post-graduate degrees, it is important to expand the currently limited knowledge on this complex community as they comprise a sizeable portion of university populations. Using cross-cultural adaptation as a guiding theoretical lens, this thesis investigates how MAC construct and negotiate their identities with(in) t emselves and others, and their adaptation processes throughout their lives and into higher education setting. Given rich military connections within both a community and a university in the Southwestern United States, this study contributes to our understanding of the experiences of MCI’s in U.S. higher education from the perspectives of MAC.
