The Space in Between: An Exploration of the Transition From Military Service to Life as a Homeless Female Veteran Abstract By Dana M. Howard University of the Pacific 2023 There are 18.2 million U.S. military veterans (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2021) and approximately 200,000 active-duty, reserve, and National Guard service members will become veterans each year (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.). Before becoming veterans, these military members were performing duties in service to their country (Duty Periods Defined, n.d.). Due to a planned or unplanned event, military personnel must transition from uniformed members to civilian citizens. This transition process can be characterized as disorienting, complex, or difficult for service members as they leave the service (Anderson & Goodman, 2014; Hachey et al., 2016; Keeling, 2018; Zogas, 2017). The congressionally mandated transition assistance program (TAP) was designed to help service members transition back to civilian life (Department of Labor, 2018). Despite support from the TAP, an estimated 33,129 veterans were unhoused in January of 2022, and of this number approximately 10.4% were females (de Sousa et al., 2022). Though the overall estimate for homeless veterans decreased by 11% from the 2020 count, the estimated number of unhoused female veterans increased by 10% (de Sousa et al., 2022). Some research has been conducted about homeless female veterans (Conard et al., 2021; Kenny & Yoder, 2019; Spinola et al., 2020), but not much is known about the space in between military service and becoming unstably housed. This study shares portraits and findings from interviews with nine female veterans and offers recommendations for improvements in support programs that might help a future generation of female veterans as they leave the military.

"The purpose of this study was to compare the work performance of two groups of handicapped veterans. One group had diagnosed psychiatric handicaps, and the other group physical handicaps. All of the veterans were member-employees on the Member-Employee Program at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Coral Gables, Florida, between July 27, 1957 (the inception of the Program), and September 30, 1959. Selected evaluative items defining work performance were compared for possible differences between the two groups"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "June, 1960." / "Submitted to the Graduate School of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work." / Advisor: Merle M. Foeckler, Professor Directing Study. / Includes bibliographical references.

"The purpose of this study was to analyze the 'before' and 'after' distribution of data collected from the hospital records of thirty-seven neuropsychiatric patients who were evaluated by a special hospital committee. More specifically, the purpose was to determine whether there were any differences of significance in patient care and patient movement of thirty-seven patients residing on an open full-privileged ward four months prior to an evaluation by the Neuropsychiatric Therapeutic Review Committee and four months following the evaluation"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "June, 1960." / "Submitted to the Graduate School of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work." / Advisor: John T. Greene, Professor Directing Study. / Includes bibliographical references.

Some veterans transitioning from military duty to the classroom are not obtaining college degrees. The purpose of this study was to investigate student veterans’ perceptions of the transition services and support systems at their college that might impact the challenges they face while pursuing a college degree. The theoretical framework for this study was Schlossberg’s Theory of Transition. The guiding research question asked how military veterans perceived the transition services and support systems at their university in the context of their decision to obtain their degrees. A purposeful sampling approach was used for selecting student veteran participants who had returned from active duty and were enrolled at the university for 1 year. Moustakas’s transcendental approach was the model used for interviewing 12 veterans. Inductive analysis was used to analyze data, including coding the interview transcripts and identifying themes to capture the collective experience of the veterans. Participants indicated that existing emotional or social support programs, organizations, and personnel to assist them on campus were inadequate. Implications for social change include increasing faculty and staff understanding of veterans’ needs, which may lead to improved transition services, support systems, and communications within the university. Results may be used to improve retention and degree completion rates of student veterans.

Currently, between 21.9 and 23 million veterans have served in the United States armed forces. Of those, 2 million are women, and of those, only 6.5% use the Veterans Health Administration system. These females often suffer from physical and mental health disorders, and overall impaired quality of life (QOL), rendering their healthcare needs complex. Seeking, and providing care in this specialty area may become overwhelming not only for the women seeking the care, but also for healthcare systems that are unfamiliar with the specific needs of this population. A retrospective medical records review was completed of 51 female veterans between the ages of 40 and 60 years, and who attended a women’s health specialty clinic in a women’s health center in the VA healthcare system. This center provides comprehensive women’s health services to female veterans. By attending this center, female veterans are having most if not all of their healthcare needs met in one location. Some of the services provided at the center include: primary care; gynecology; other gender specific health care needs; mental health care; and social assistance among other issues that may be associated with the overall QOL and depression. Despite this study having a small sample size (n = 51), the participants were ethnically diverse: White (52.9%); African American (29.4%); Hispanic/Latino (15.7%); and Asian/Pacific Islander (2%). The overall results of this study reveal that female veterans who attend this clinic, have significantly lower baseline scores for QOL when compared to a North American population reference value. Means and standard deviation for total Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) score were; (n = 51, M = 21.2, SD = 9.2) compared to the North American women population reference values (n = 1,376, M = 9.1, SD = 7.6), z = 9.41, p < .0001, cohens d = 1.31. These results were significantly lower for all MRS subsets. The higher the means and standard deviation, the lower the QOL. A paired sample t-test indicated significant improvement in QOL after treatment in QOL (t = 7.80, p < .0001), and depression levels (t = 3.74, p < .0001) among female veterans attending the women’s health specialty clinic. Forward stepwise multiple linear regression models were fit to explore the association between the following variables and the outcomes of QOL and depression levels: low socioeconomic status (SES); number of deliveries; years of service; and military sexual trauma (MST). The only predictor that appeared to be significantly associated with higher MRS scores at baseline was a history of MST (β = .363; t = 2.44; p = 0.02). Higher MRS scores can be interpreted as lower QOL among female veterans. Despite the complexities and unique needs of female veterans, the findings of this study suggest that timely, comprehensive and gender specific healthcare can significantly improve overall QOL and depression levels. In addition, further studies are need to assess what other variables may have a direct association with QOL, depression levels, and overall health of female veterans.

The psychological effects of combat experience on war veterans has been widely documented, ever since what is now called posttraumatics stress disorder (PTSD) was discovered in soldiers and given names like shell shock, battle fatigue and war neurosis.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between having military discipline, the military rank, the branch of service, the number of years served, reserve status and if these factors would affect a veterans' compliancy in taking daily medication.

Abstract EXAMINATION OF BASAL NEUROENDOCRINE LEVELS IN OIF/OEF/OND VETERANS By Sage E. Hawn, B.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015. Major Director: Ananda B. Amstadter, PhD. Associate Professor Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Human and Molecular Genetics High rates of combat exposure exist among veterans of the recent conflicts, and are associated with debilitating mental health conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Numerous psychosocial and biologic factors are associated with PTSD, including the HPA-axis. The present study aimed to compare baseline neuroendocrine levels by trauma group (PTSD, trauma exposed [TE], and non-trauma controls [NTC]) among a sample of young veterans. An exploratory aim was to examine potential moderators of the relation between PTSD and basal cortisol/ACTH. Group differences in cortisol were nominally significant, with the NTC group having significantly higher cortisol than the PTSD group. Sleep disturbance was the only moderator of this relationship in cortisol, although lifetime trauma load significantly predicted basal cortisol across all models. No significant effects were demonstrated for ACTH. Examining effects of trauma on basal physiology provides a critical stepping ground for future investigations that may inform targeted prevention and intervention efforts.

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Margaret Lombe / Over the past several decades trauma research has expanded to recognize the heterogeneity in post-exposure reactions. Posttraumatic stress disorder, the most commonly researched mental health outcome associated with trauma, does not develop in all trauma survivors. Rather, more common trajectories of adaptation following a trauma include normative health adaptation, resilience, and posttraumatic growth. The aims of the current study were to: (1) describe and characterize post-combat adaptation profiles in a sample of Israeli male military veterans (N = 448) based on the combination of posttraumatic distress symptoms, types of coping strategies, and level of posttraumatic growth; (2) test the utility of latent class membership on predicting the quality of posttraumatic growth (i.e. constructive growth); and (3) explore the protective factors (i.e. social support and adaptive coping) that promote constructive posttraumatic growth for each profile of post-combat adaptation. The current study used latent profile mixture modeling to identify profiles of post-combat adaptation, Heckman-probit regression models, and logistic regression analysis. Demographic controls, combat related variables, type of coping strategies utilized, and baseline reports of social support were not significant predictors of constructive growth in either the resilient or struggling latent classes. However, for those in the struggling subset of the sample, reported improvement in perceived social support during the intervention increased the odds of reaching constructive growth. This relationship did not hold for the resilient subset of the sample. The study extends existing literature and theory by proposing a more complex and nuanced examination of posttrauma adaption, and specifies conditions under which protective factors may influence positive adaptation outcomes such as constructive growth. These findings highlight the importance of tailored clinical interventions that account for more complex profiles of post-combat adaptation and provide additional support for the unique effects of group intervention modalities. Further, these findings provide evidence that adaptation takes place over time and as such services should continue to be available for veterans long after combat exposure. Finally, these findings call for future research to build on existing longitudinal investigation by examining the complex temporal components of adaptation in trauma survivors. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.