Early into the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, reports revealed that less than half of individuals displaying symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder sought help from the mental health community. As a means to cope with the stresses of war, many soldiers turned to animals for emotional support, and anecdotal reports identified reduction in the severity of distress among soldiers. However, no study was found that investigates this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of service members with combat-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and the human-animal bond. The study applied a blend of constructivism and phenomenology to address how the construction of knowledge and perception interacts with trauma exposure to develop distress--the diathesis-stress theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. The single research question inquired into the lived experiences of Operational Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom military personnel with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms who have a companion animal. Data collection consisted of 12 in-depth, participant interviews, which were analyzed using the phenomenological techniques created by Moustakas. The analysis revealed 4 themes: (a) rich descriptions of deployment events, (b) the experiences of returning from a deployment, (c) participants' perceptions on their pets' influence on posttraumatic stress symptoms, and (d) other personal comments and opinions related to participants' experiences. These findings illuminate the experiences of combat-related posttraumatic stress and the importance of animals in the therapeutic process. These detailed descriptions may help develop alternative treatment options and help policy makers assess the current management of posttraumatic stress in the military and Veteran's Administration systems.

Young adults in the United States are less interested in organized religion and consider the use of enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorists and captured U.S. military personnel by enemy forces as justifiable. The relationship between religion, political ideology, and enhanced interrogation support are well known, yet it is not known if young adults with current or prior military service also consider these applications justifiable. The purpose of this study was to determine if religion influenced the opinions of young adults with current or former military service on the use of enhanced interrogations. The theoretical framework for this study included Milgram's theory of obedience and Maslow's theories of motivation. Research questions focused on religion, age, gender, and support for enhanced interrogation of (a) terrorist and suspected terrorist and (b) captured U.S. Armed Forces personnel. A quantitative design was used by employing 10-item measure of religious involvement, religious commitment, and acceptability of enhanced interrogation administered electronically via internet. Data from current or former military service members (n = 105), recruited through military community newspapers and social networking websites, were collected and coded for correlational analysis. Results indicated a significant positive correlation between religion and support for enhanced interrogation of terrorists or suspected terrorist (r(95) = .366, p < 0.000). There was no correlation between religion and support for enhanced interrogation with age, gender, and use on U.S. Armed Forces personnel. Implications for positive social change include consideration of this religious influence by military chaplains when training military members on ethical obligations and military law.

Seventy percent of service members identify as religious, and an accumulation of evidence supports the protective role religiosity may play in buffering mental health outcomes; therefore, it is important to examine if religion acts as a buffer for these individuals. Guided by religious coping theory, this study examined whether religiosity moderated the effect of combat exposure on depression in a sample of U.S. Army Soldiers (N=10,666). Data were drawn from the All Army Study (AAS) component of the larger Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (STARRS) dataset. Using moderated path analysis, findings suggest that religiosity moderated the association between combat exposure and depression, such that higher levels of religiosity were associated with a lower impact of combat exposure on depression. Implications for military helping professionals include identifying leverage points for intervention such as during reintegration, particularly for Soldiers who identify religion to be important to them.

Military stigma is a heavy burden of social stigma internalized by veterans who are diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during post-deployment psychological screening. PTSD is classified as a mental disorder associated with widespread reluctance to seek medical assistance. Among military veterans who suffer from combat-related posttraumatic stress (PTS), military stigma is considered a widespread problem. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore veterans' perceptions of various aspects of military stigma, including post-deployment psychological screening, the diagnosis of PTSD, and factors associated with reluctance to seek medical assistance for PTS. In-depth interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 10 veterans of 2 recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. A modified form of labeling theory was applied to address the role of cultural stereotypes in stigma (societal and self-internalized), and the discriminatory factors associated with them. Multiple themes emerged, including a commonly held view that post-deployment health screenings are superficial, inconsistent, and ineffective procedures in which veterans feel the need to lie about their experience for fear of being stigmatized with a mental disorder. The findings confirm that the stigma associated with a diagnosis of PTSD perpetuates veterans' reluctance to seek help for PTS, which results in multiple personal and professional problems. Remedies recommended by these veterans included improved post-deployment medical screening procedures, reclassification of PTSD as a war injury instead of a mental disorder, and PTS-related stigma awareness training.

Hierarchies within organizations like the military have often contributed to feelings of subordination and have contributed to lower employee autonomy and a decrease in job satisfaction, motivation, and performance. Other constructs, such as those relating to personality, have been eluded to explain the variance in the poor outcomes. However, despite the research on dominance, autonomy, and personality constructs, there has been little investigation to bridge together the structure and dynamics of personality and autonomy. By applying interpersonal, boundary, control, and contingency theories, this quantitative study bridged the gap between hierarchical levels of military rank, the personality construct of relative dominance, and perceived autonomy in a convenience sample of United States Air Force pararescuemen ( N = 72). Based on a multiple linear regression and post hoc logistic regressions, results indicated that relative dominance and military rank equally and significantly explained the variance in total perceived autonomy for pararescuemen. These findings question the current rank-centric military hierarchy and highlight the importance of personality and qualitative factors that influence perceived autonomy in pararescue, a critical variable throughout organizational psychology. These findings have positive social change implications by encouraging a paradigm shift from a rank-centric to position-centric structure for pararescuemen, a shift that may improve personnel/resource management; reduce organizational costs for military personnel; and increase overall job satisfaction, motivation, performance, recruitment, and retention.

Researchers have indicated that school-aged children with a caregiver who had been deployed were more likely to exhibit emotional and behavioral problems. These problems were impacted by the ability of the parent at home to manage emotions so as to utilize appropriate parenting skills with the child. However, there remained an important gap in the literature regarding the experiences of the military personnel reintegrating with their preschool aged child. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to address the experiences of military caregivers with their preschool-aged children through semistructured interviews to better understand the variables that impacted the ability to reattach with the child. The main research question for this study examined reattachment experiences of 11 military parents with their preschool-aged child during reintegration through the theoretical lens of attachment theory because previous attachment literature showed the importance of attachment development during the preschool-aged years. Data from the 11 interviews were analyzed to identify relevant themes that told the story of the experiences of those military personnel, which were then broken into the significant structural and textural descriptions to form the essence of each participant's experience. Data were member checked and triangulated using peer reviewers. Findings from this research helped clarify the positive or negative behaviors of the military parent and contextual factors that impacted the child's ability to reattach with that caregiver. The results also enhanced social change initiatives through increasing awareness and understanding, among all entities that work with the military, of the importance of attachment so as to promote programs that address ways to help those families stay connected during all phases of deployment.

Military personnel and first responders operate in complex operational environments, and must be able to perform under physical, psychological, and emotional stress. Research suggests that resiliency assuages stress and improves the performance of military personnel and first responders. However, there are no studies examining the effects of resiliency on military first responders in training. The purpose of this research was to determine whether the dispositional hardiness traits of commitment, control and challenge displayed by Marine aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) specialist trainees correlated to success in classroom performance, success during practical exercises, higher graduation rates. The theoretical foundation for this ex post facto quantitative study was psychological and organizational resiliency, as represented by Kobasa's hardiness theory. The convenience sample consisted of 60 Marine ARFF specialists trainees using self-report surveys during 2013. Independent samples t tests and hierarchical regression analyses revealed no statistical significance between higher hardiness levels and academic and practical application performance, although physical injury and other factors not measured by the hardiness construct were found to impact graduation rates negatively. The implications for positive social change include expanding organizational conceptions of resilience to measure dispositional factors not assessed by hardiness. This study may also offer insights into improving Marine Corps and first responder selection, training, and educational programs, as well as their performance and quality of life.

Research shows that faculty, staff, and administrators at institutions of higher learning have a fundamental responsibility to create a safe and effective learning environment for returning military combat veterans. Studies of student veterans have shown that combat veterans have both unique strengths and barriers that must be taken into account if they are to complete an advanced degree. This study contributes to the literature on educational barriers faced by student veterans and their educators. Knowles' andragogy theory provided the theoretical framework for this transcendental-phenomenological research study. Ten randomly chosen student military veterans from Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Washington, participated in guided 60-minute interviews to discuss pedagogical tools and administrative actions found to be helpful or hindering to students' academic success. Interviews were recorded and transcribed for analysis, and participants' accounts of their experiences produced the textural and structural descriptions that led to identification of salient themes. The findings of this study revealed the Veterans' needs to feel respected and treated as competent adults. They needed community colleges to scaffold their cognitive, communal, and emotional needs; they also needed flexibility on attendance and assigned seating, faculty polices, and pedagogical offerings. Serious social problems can emerge if the educational needs of this at-risk student population are unaddressed. Social change will come as a result of scaffolding student veterans through a successful journey toward their desired goals. This process will enrich the lives of this population by opening the door to better jobs, higher pay, and a higher quality of life for both the student and his or her family.

Sexual violence is sometimes considered a taboo topic for discussion, but it gained widespread attention in the media in late 2017 due to the social movements addressing the sexual assault of women. However, sexual violence perpetrated against men lacks publicity in America, and highlights a similar situation in the Armed Forces. A discussion of sexually violent acts committed against men is sometimes impeded by cultural norms. This discrepancy associated with civilian and military communities inspired this exploratory study. A convenience sample of 520 former American military professionals completed an anonymous online survey to describe their attitudes and beliefs regarding rape myths. The survey included basic demographics followed by 20 questions with dichotomous responses addressing male and female rape myths, empathy, belief in a just world and gender attitudes. Responses to each question were analyzed, followed by composite scoring for rape myths, empathy and gender attitude questions. Bivariate correlation analysis was performed to examine significant relationships. Ordinal and bivariate logistic regressions were completed to predict adherence to male rape myths. The exploratory nature of the survey provided a glimpse of veterans' views and indicated the majority, 317 (61.1%) of veterans did not adhere to any of the listed male rape myths, and 311 (59.6%) of veterans did not agree with the female rape myths. The ordinal logistic regression model predicted that empathy for male survivors and disagreement with some patriarchal gender attitudes were significantly associated with decreased acceptance of male rape myths in the sample of veterans. Significant predictors of male rape myths in the bivariate logistic regression model included increased empathy (Exp(B) = 6.373, CI [2.740, 14.822]), agreement with patriarchal gender attitudes (Exp(B) = 5.598, CI [2.059, 15.219]), and adherence to female rape myths (Exp(B) = 1.969, CI [.993, 3.904]). These results emphasized popular misinformation, and the need for education and awareness surrounding rape myths. Strategic suggestions for the military community were aimed at prevention, education, and policy changes. Despite the challenging environment, the topic of sexual violence perpetrated against males is a relevant issue affecting humanity.

This dissertation research examines the impact of military service among an incarcerated population. It addresses the gaps identified within the prior literature by taking a closer look at the association between service experience and criminal justice outcomes. Specifically, the present study explores whether branch type, combat exposure, age of entrance, service length, and discharge status impact the number of lifetime arrests, current offense type, and institutional misconduct. This research uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics* 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities. Multivariate analyses indicate that different elements of military participation influence criminal and deviant behaviors. Length of service significantly impacted the quantity of lifetime arrests, whereas age of entry, combat experience, and service length were important conditions in offense types. Inmates with military experience were found to be more likely to participate in institutional misconduct. The following service elements were predictors of prison misconduct as well: age of entry, length of service, branch affiliation, and discharge status. The findings in this study have theoretical implications for the use of criminological theory in military service research, and they provide suggestions for future military and criminal justice policy development.