Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring The Mental Health Experience Of Perinatal Military Spouses Based In Sigonella, Italy, Lyndsey Dannenberg

Capstone Experience

The perinatal period can have a profound impact on the mental health of women, their infants, and their families, especially when it comes to depression and anxiety disorders. This study aims to delve into the experiences of perinatal mental health among military spouses stationed overseas, on Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, and contribute to the limited research on active-duty military spouses and their perinatal mental health while stationed overseas. The research uses a qualitative phenomenological approach, seeking to provide valuable insights into the lived experiences of military spouses and their perinatal mental health. Risk factors associated with perinatal mental illness …

Serving American Veterans: A Review And Analysis Of Gaps In Service In The Needs Of Veterans, Mary Elisabeth Germann

Baker Scholar Projects

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is the agency of the federal government that is responsible for providing benefits, health care, and cemetery services to US military Veterans and their families. About a quarter of the nation’s population, approximately 70 million people, are potentially eligible for VA benefits and services because they are veterans, family members, or survivors of veterans. Due to this expansive demand, the United States has developed the most comprehensive system of Veterans assistance programs in the World. But many argue that the US VA still falls short of expectations and fails to fulfill the needs …

The Purple Heart And Suicidal Behaviors In Post-9/11 U.S. Army Combat Veterans With A Traumatic Brain Injury: A Mixed Methods Study, Jayna Moceri-Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Military suicide rates remain high, despite years of targeted efforts to prevent suicide. Specifically, Army Combat Veterans who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism are at the highest risk for suicide. This dissertation highlights possible causes for suicidal behaviors within this unique group and provides specific military suicide prevention recommendations. The dissertation is organized into three publishable manuscripts: The first manuscript (Chapter 1) is a mixed-methods dissertation research proposal written according to the National Institute of Health proposal guidelines. The second manuscript (Chapter 2) is an integrative review of the …

Services For Homeless Veterans: A Study Of Access To Benefits, Sheryl Maddox Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractHomelessness among veterans in the United States is a multifaceted social and health concern that has continued to increase despite immense efforts to minimize and eliminate this issue. Numerous organizations have dedicated resources; however, many veterans do not use benefits and resources that are available to them, and homelessness remains a health and social concern. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how individual and interpersonal barriers, community factors, organizational structure, and existing policies for assistance are perceived by support staff that work with veterans with mental disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. …

Exploration Of Rape Myths Among Former Military Professionals, Gabrielle Caldara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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 …

Research Brief: "The National Veteran Sleep Disorder Study: Descriptive Epidemiology And Secular Trends, 2000–2010", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the relation between sleep disorder diagnosis and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mental health disorders among veterans. In policy and practice, physicians should familiarize themselves with signs of and screenings for sleep disorders and should discuss factors that affect sleep with their veteran patients; the VHA should continue recommending policies that help veterans receive a prompt diagnosis and treatment of their sleep disorders, policymakers should fund early intervention programs to help veterans learn how to cope with reintegration, and the VHA should create a database on sleep disorders in veterans. Suggestions for future research include studying veterans …

Training For Tactical Operations In Tropical Environments: Challenges, Risks, & Strategies For Risk Management, Rodney Pope, Rob Orr, Anthony Walker, Shane D. Irving, Ralph P. Jones, Richard J. Gorey, Scott D. Gayton, Joseph Knapik

Rob Marc Orr

Tactical operators, encompassing military, law enforcement, fire and other emergency personnel, can be found in all climatic zones. These tactical operators may be deployed at short notice to tropical environments, often with limited time to acclimatise if based in more temperate zones. They are then expected to undertake arduous tactical tasks, often repeatedly and for extended periods in the tropical area. These demands combine with harsh environments, personal protective equipment (PPE), tactical loads, threats to life, and responsibility for the safety and survival of others to place immense physical and mental stresses on tactical operators. Managing the resulting risks is …

Veterans' Perceptions Of Military Stigma And The Shame Associated With Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress, Alexander J. Buelna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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 …

U.S. Army Enlisted Soldiers' Adherence To Prescribed Malaria Chemoprophylaxis In Afghanistan, Michael Paul Brisson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the past 13 years, the United States Army has been engaged in armed conflict within Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the United States Army has been forced to evacuate soldiers from the battlefield because of malaria, a parasitic disease that is endemic in Afghanistan. Even though the U.S. Army has adopted an effective chemoprophylaxis protocol, soldiers' adherence to their prescribed medication has been historically low. This research addressed a gap in literature regarding the adherence rates of U.S. Army enlisted soldiers to their prescribed oral malaria chemoprophylaxis. In addition, this research investigated self-reported reasons for soldiers' nonadherence to this medication. The study …

Listening To The Ranks: Perceptions Of The U.S. Air Force Occupational Health And Safety Training, Melissa Jo Breunig

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Occupational health and safety hazards are abundant in military environments. Due to the hazardous occupational settings, injuries remain a public health concern in the United States military. Public health plays a critical role in injury reduction by addressing the need for comprehensive safety education training, and more specifically, exposure related injuries. A secondary data analysis was completed using Communication Theory as the overarching framework to analyze 13 qualitative interviews conducted with Airmen to gain their perceptions of the occupational health and safety training at Nellis and Creech Air Force Base (AFB). Pedagogy and training content were the two main themes …

Do Black-White Racial Disparities In Breastfeeding Persist In The Military Community?, Jennifer H. Lundquist, Zhun Xu, Wanda Barfield, Irma Elo

Dr. Jennifer H. Lundquist

Objective: We conduct a comparative analysis of breastfeeding behavior between military and civilian-affiliated mothers. Our focus is on African American mothers among whom breastfeeding rates are lowest. The military context may mitigate conditions associated with low breastfeeding prevalence by a) providing stable employment and educational opportunities to populations who face an otherwise poor labor market and b) providing universal healthcare that includes breastfeeding consultation. Methods: Using Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data for which we received special permission from each state to flag military affiliation, we analyze civilians and military affiliate in breastfeeding initiation using logistic regression and breastfeeding …

Factors Influencing U.S Army Personnel Meeting Body Mass Index Standards, Salma Theus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Factors Influencing U.S. Army Personnel Meeting Body Mass Index Standards

by

Salma Theus

MS, California State University, Dominguez Hills, 2008

BA, La Sierra University, 2005

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Psychology

Walden University

September 2014

U.S. Army Regulations require soldiers to be fit, as excessive weight negatively impacts their readiness, health, and morale. A quantitative study examined if personal, behavioral, and/or environmental factors predict a soldier's self-efficacy and body mass index. Data were obtained from 117 soldiers on 6 scales: the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, the Army Physical Fitness …

Racial Disparities In Us Infant Birth Outcomes: A Protective Effect Of Military Affiliation?, Jennifer H. Lundquist

Dr. Jennifer H. Lundquist

Research has been unable to determine why African Americans have higher infant mortality and preterm birth prevalence than whites, even taking into account measurable social and economic differences. This is, in part, due to the difficulty of adequately measuring the impacts of racial inequality and residential segregation. As an alternative approach, this paper comparatively examines infant outcomes among military-affiliated and civilian black and white women. The military setting provides higher-than-average economic equality and universal healthcare access. Although military-affiliated populations are usually left out of most major datasets, we construct a new variable that allows us to identify military affiliation using …

Psychological Care For Persons Of Diverse Religions: A Collaborative Continuum, Glen Milstein, Anne Marie Yali

Publications and Research

The purpose of this paper is to describe to psychologists and other clinicians a continuum of mental health care for persons of diverse religions. The continuum delineates boundaries between clinical care provided by mental health professionals and religious care provided by clergy, as well as describes pathways of collaboration across these boundaries. A prevention science based model of Clergy Outreach and Professional Engagement (COPE) is offered to guide this collaboration. The model describes a continuum that moves from the care already present in religious communities, through professional clinical care provided in response to dysfunction and returns persons to their own …

Differences Between Intermittent And Light Daily Smokers In A Population Of U.S Military Recruits, Theodore Cooper, Thom Taylor, Ashley Murray, Margaret Debon, Mark Vander Weg, Robert Klesges, G. Wayne Talcott

Theodore V. Cooper

No abstract provided.

Trends. Biopolitics And Anthrax: A United States Fiasco?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the biopolitical issues involved with the mass inoculation of United States military forces against anthrax.