Social and Psychological Risk and Protective Factors for Veteran Well-Being: The Role of Veteran Identity and Its Implications for Intervention

Military Behavioral Health
Richard E AdamsJoseph A Boscarino

Abstract

Social psychological theory hypothesizes that one's identity, self-definitions, and meanings used for a particular social role fosters individual purpose in life and affects behavior in specific social situations. As such, it can be protective against the onset of psychological disorders. We examined this hypothesis with data collected from 1,730 military veterans recruited to study the health effects of warzone deployments. The sample was primarily male, older, and White. Our key independent variable was a Likert scale rating the prominence of a respondent's veteran identity: how important it is to the person. Outcome variables included posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide ideation, depression, alcohol misuse, and use of VA services. Bivariate analysis suggested that veterans with a prominent veteran identity are older, noncollege graduates, have less income, and had their first deployment to Vietnam. In multivariate analyses, study participants with a prominent veteran identity were less likely to exhibit suicide ideation, but more likely to misuse alcohol and use VA services. We found no differences for PTSD, self-rated health, or depression by veteran identity. Veterans who scored higher on the veteran identity sca...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jun 12, 2021·Journal of Community Psychology·Mayra GuerreroLeonard A Jason
Jul 18, 2021·Administration and Policy in Mental Health·Erin ComartinVictoria Nelson
Sep 25, 2021·The Science of Diabetes Self-management and Care·Allison A LewinskiHeather A King

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