Military and Veterans Studies Commons^™

Research Brief: "Battlefield Compassion And Post-Traumatic Growth In Combat Servicepersons", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the compassionate acts that come out of post-traumatic growth among veterans after serving. For policy and practice, the research shows that military values, bonding experiences, and maturation through military service allows for positive personal growth and that the VA should provide programs for discussing this growth. Suggestions for future research include taking into account variations in specific experiences when analyzing post-traumatic growth and including a representative random sample.

Research Brief: "Combat Exposure And Suicide Risk In Two Samples Of Military Personnel", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the relationship between suicide risk and combat exposure among veterans who are receiving mental health care and those not receiving mental health care. For policy and practice, veterans who are not receiving mental health care should be monitored for depression and PTSD; mental health professionals should understand the relationship between risk factors and suicide, and the VHA should encourage post-9/11 veterans to use their mental health care benefits provided to them by the VA. Suggestions for future research include using a more representative sample, analyzing the sample over time, and relying on methods other than self-reporting.

Research Brief: "Impact Of The Seeking Safety Program On Clinical Outcomes Among Homeless Female Veterans With Psychiatric Disorders", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the effect of the Seeking Safety program's services on improvement in PTSD, psychiatric symptoms, and social support among homeless female veterans. In policy and practice, clinicians should be trained on how to use the program to better serve homeless female veterans, and policymakers should push for clinician training for those who work with homeless veterans. Suggestions for future research include applying this study and the Seeking Safety program to non-VA healthcare systems, assessing substance use within the program, and assessing the long-term effects of the Seeking Safety program.

Research Brief: "Protective Factors And Risk Modification Of Violence In Iraq And Afghanistan War Veterans", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This research studies non-combat related aggressive behavior in service members and the influence of protective factors. Veterans with protective factors, such as having positive social support, are less likely to engage in violence, and therefore expanding social support programs are beneficial. Future research should consider exploring various components of work life in relation to potential aggression.

Research Brief: "A New Generation Of Women Veterans: Stressors Faced By Women Deployed To Iraq And Afghanistan", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study analyzes the effect of experiencing combat on the physical and mental health of female veterans as compared to male veterans. For policy and practice, the research shows that female veterans who experienced combat might not reach out for health services, and therefore those barriers should be identified and addressed. Suggestions for future research include conducting studies with larger sample sizes and representative samples, as well as addressing the interpersonal stress female veterans experience.

Media, Military, Militarism: Media Consumption, Awareness Of U.S. Military Foreign Policy, And Support For War, Daniel James Patten

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between the media, attitudes towards supporting war, and military awareness. Online survey data were collected from a four-year university located in a heavily militarized area. This study found that having knowledge of Afghanistan and Iraq War facts negatively affected one's decision to support war and was the strongest predictor of this decision. The media was not found to be a significant predictor impacting this knowledge when controlling for other variables. Political ideology and other related variables were found to be more influential of this knowledge. These findings imply that the public may be imprudently supporting …

Comics As A Cognitive Training Medium For Expert Decision Making, Amber Nalu

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Experts such as military commanders must make decisions quickly and under deadly conditions. A variety of cognitive training media exist, from Powerpoint to virtual reality (VR) simulations; however, there are alternative media that have not yet been comprehensively studied for expert decision making training. In this study, the researcher has examined the use of comics as an alternative to current cognitive training media. In Experiment 1, naval submariners were shown a text-based medium or comic strip and asked to make a decision about the scenario after viewing. The scenario was derived from a situation that submariners were somewhat familiar with …

Evaluating Changes In Families With Members On Military Deployment, Jill Brink

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

With ongoing operations in the Middle East, military families face a large amount of stress surrounding deployment. While many studies have been conducted on soldier mental health, few have been published on the health of their families and even less on their children. The present case studies examine the mental health of military children, the change in family environment, and the social supports dependent spouses use during deployment. Two families are presented in this study. One family represents an Army Reserve family and the other an Air Force family. By comparing scores to standardized scores, it was shown that mental …

A Conceptualization Of Treatment Stigma In Returning Veterans, Jason B. Flick

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The dissertation project combines three theoretical models that inform conceptualizations of the origins, manifestations, and consequences of stigma: the Social Psychological model (SPM), the Sociological model (SM), and the Cognitive-behavioral model (CBM). These models merge into a single, integrative lens, through which stigma can be examined on both cultural and individual levels. This lens is then applied to the cultural and individual manifestations of the stigma of seeking psychological treatment experienced by veterans who have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Through this lens, an understanding of the inception, maintenance, and effects of this treatment …

The Impact Of Company Grade Officer Self-Sacrificial Behavior On Subordinate Assessments Of Leader Charisma, Danjel Bout

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Newly commissioned officers in the U.S. Army are taught to lead their soldiers from the front and to voluntarily make personal sacrifices in the service of the nation. Although this facet of military culture is seen as critical to the integrity of the force, there are few research studies describing the impact of leader self-sacrifice in the U.S. Army. Research evolving from the transformational leadership literature indicates that civilian leaders who engage in self-sacrificial behavior are viewed as more charismatic than their counterparts and that this perception is particularly pronounced in crisis situations. The current study extended this research to …

The Human-Animal Bond And Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Melissa White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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 …

Hardiness As A Predictor Of Success For Marine Corps First Responders In Training, Jason James Bogden

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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 …

The November 2010 Elections: Verification And Nuclear Weapons Reduction, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the results of the November 2010 elections in the United States (US), the transition of power between two very different Senates, and US participation in international treaties pertaining to nuclear weapons. Of note, are the roles of and problems with the idea of verification as per modern logical positivism.

Fool For Love: The Psychology Of Security Violation, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses why Pfc. Bradley Manning, United States (US) Army, who has been accused of illegally disclosing classified material—more than 150,000 diplomatic cables, 90,000 intelligence reports, and at least one video – allegedly performed the actions in question.

Stanley Mcchrystal, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Jérôme Kerviel: Are We All Ciphers?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article examines the fall of United States (US) Army General Stanley McChrystal, and the concepts of the self and identity.

Terrorism And The Law: Show Trials And Why The Show Must Go On, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the nature and meaning of terrorism trials during the United States’ war on terror.

To Think Nuclear, To Go Nuclear, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article discusses three of the many psychological problematics about nuclear weapons, weapons employment, and war underlying the language of policies, programs, plans, treaties, and one’s support or rejection of them.

Effectiveness Of The Combat Operational Stress Control Training Program: Expectations Of The U.S. Marine Corps, Marek M. Sipko

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the U.S. Marine Corps combat operational stress preventive training program to determine whether the program meets the training effectiveness criteria of the Marine Corps. This evaluation entailed both qualitative and quantitative inquiries to answer the subject matter research questions.

The participants consisted of active duty and reserve Marines on active duty. For the purposes of the quantitative analysis, the researcher obtained a random sample of 480 Marines. Additionally, the researcher obtained a purposefully stratified qualitative sample of 12 active duty Marines consisting of four junior non-commissioned Marines, four staff non-commissioned officers, and four commissioned …

Annals Of Psychological Warfare: How To Induce Panic, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the phenomenon of panic in a wartime setting because of psychological warfare, as well as in other settings.

The Science Of Interpersonal Trust, Randy Borum

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Understanding Terrorist Psychology, Randy Borum

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Initial Entry Training On The Moral And Character Development Of Military Police Soldiers, Kenneth R. Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Army conducts extensive training on its core values beginning with initial entry training (IET), commonly referred to as basic training, in order to shape soldiers' behavior and decision making in combat and noncombat situations. This mixed methods study addressed the problem of limited empirical research on the effects of U.S. Army IET on soldiers' moral and character development. The purpose was to explore the effects of Military Police (MP) IET on soldiers in training through a mixed methods quantitative and qualitative model. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Rest's four component model (FCM) of moral …

Cognitive Processes And Race Differences: Possible Factors Contributing To Ptsd, Christina Fay

Graduate Theses

Past research suggest differences in racial group’s perceived experiences in traumatic situations and different ways of coping can affect individual levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The author examined how race, methods of coping and risk/resilience factors interact with PTSD symptomology. A total of 28 Black, Hispanic and Non Hispanic Caucasian Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans were assessed for PTSD symptoms, methods of coping and risk/resilience factors related to deployment. Findings indicate no significant differences for minorities and non Hispanic Caucasians on level of PTSD symptoms. Findings indicate significant differences between minorities and non Hispanic Caucasians on …

Interview And Interrogation: A Perspective And Update From The Usa, Randy Borum, Michael Gelles, Steven Kleinman

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Truth And Healing A Veteran's Depression, Mike W. Martin

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

Comments on an article by Christopher Bailey (see record 2009-24345-002). Dr. Christopher Bailey portrays an American veteran, Colin, who slips into a "serious but not severe" depression upon returning from the Iraq War, After ruling out post-traumatic stress disorder, the psychiatrist comes to believe that Colin's depression is tied to his feelings of being a wimp, of not having "done his part or proven his manhood," and of losing his chance to become a hero because he had been assigned non-combat duty—feelings that the psychiatrist glosses (misleadingly?) as a "painful lack of wounds." (I speak of the "the psychiatrist," rather …

Training Collaboration In A Network-Assisted Environment, Brooke Schaab, J. Douglas Dressel, Mark A. Sabol, Andrea L. Lassiter

Psychology Department Publications

Technology enabled non-face-to-face collaboration has the potential to enhance information sharing and shared situational awareness (SSA) by providing near real-time information to a wide audience. Collaborators require an awareness of what critical information should be shared to develop this SSA. Previous research suggested that participants, while reporting that they shared relevant information, in actuality did not. To explore this issue, the previous research was repeated with the addition of having half of the participants exposed to a short training video on how to collaborate. Participants who received training on how to collaborate located significantly more SCUDs during each of the …

Bystanders' Reactions Towards Co-Punishment Events In The Taiwanese Military: Examining The Moderating Effects Of Organizational Norms, Shu-Cheng S. Chi, Hsin-Hsin Lo, Tsai Ming-Hong, Brian P. Niehoff

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The present study examined bystanders' justice perceptions about co-punishment events. In a sample of 169 logistic officers in the Taiwanese military, responsibility attributions (i.e. liability attributed to co-punished persons) had a negative relationship with perceived harshness, and a positive relationship with perceived procedural justice. In addition, the effects of responsibility attributions on procedural justice were weaker if the person perceived stronger rather than weaker organizational norms of co-punishment.

The Political Personality Of 2008 Republican Presidential Nominee John Mccain, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality of Arizona senator John McCain, Republican nominee in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data regarding Sen. McCain was extracted from biographical sources and published reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the second edition of the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with Axis II of DSM–IV.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC manual. McCain’s …

Sexual Revictimization, Janyce Vick

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Based on interviews with six women, this study describes each participant’s personal experience of childhood sexual victimization, and revictimization while serving in the military. These traumatic experiences in childhood may have increased their risk of developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when exposed to sexual trauma in adulthood. Using a grounded theory approach, the interviewer identified common themes among the stories: early sexual abuse, and subsequent revictimization, poor family support, and poor choice of intimate partners as adults. Moreover, they experienced lessened ability to protect self and low self-esteem and denial. The subjects described a personal culture that included abuse as …

The Political Personalities Of 2008 Republican Presidential Contenders John Mccain And Rudy Giuliani, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of indirect assessments of the personalities of Arizona senator John McCain and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, contenders for the Republican Party nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Information concerning Sen. McCain and Mayor Giuliani was collected from biographical sources and published reports and synthesized into personality profiles using the second edition of the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with Axis II of DSM–IV.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed on …