Military and Veterans Studies Commons^™

The Complex Combatant: Constructions Of Victimhood And Perpetrator-Hood In Gulu District, Northern Uganda, Kyra Fox

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the wake of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict in Northern Uganda, both the local and international community struggle to define the “victims” and “perpetrators” of a conflict that transformed ordinary civilians into combatants. Made up primarily of child soldiers, the LRA forcefully abducted and conscripted children across Northern Uganda to fight in a guerilla war against the Ugandan government. LRA members were forced to murder their own families and terrorize their home villages in an attempt to disorient and desensitize them to lives of violence. Some became willing, even eager fighters; others struggled daily to live with their …

Association Between Combat, Morally Injurious Experiences, Spiritual Injury, And Alcohol Use Among Active Duty Military Personnel And Veterans, Allison T. Robbins

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Literature has supported that, along with physical and psychological injuries, combat profoundly impacts veterans’ moral and spiritual belief systems and may contribute to negative health behaviors. Moral injury is a developing construct related to negative consequences associated with war-zone stressors that transgress military veterans’ deeply held values and belief systems. Additionally, spiritual injury addresses negative responses to an event that damages their relationship with God, self, and others, and alienates an individual from that which gives meaning to their lives. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between combat exposure, morally injurious experiences (MIEs), spiritual injury, …

Optimizing Workforce Performance: Perceived Differences Of Army Officer Critical Thinking Talent Across Level Of Education, Richard B. Ayers

Dissertations

The U.S. Army’s operating environment continues to become increasingly complex and unpredictable, where U.S. technological advantage continues to erode. The complexities stem from the Army’s doctrinal assumption that the future operating environment is unknown and constantly changing (Department of the Army [DA], 2014a). Diminishing technological advantage results in more reliance on soldiers’ cognitive capability, and less on high technology weapons systems (McMaster, 2015).

A review of military literature shows extensive research on the importance of Army leaders to be talented critical thinkers (Fischer, Spiker, & Riedel, 2008, 2009; Gerras, 2008; Thomas & Gentzler, 2013). Human capital literature reveals many college …

Walking On Eggshells: The Lived Experience Of Partners Of Veterans With Ptsd, Tiffany A. Beks

The Qualitative Report

This phenomenological study examined the descriptions of lived experience among female partners of veteran men with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) via internet discussion forums. Personal, self-initiated written accounts of 30 partners were analyzed with respect to meaning, challenges, coping responses, and role in veterans’ healing and rehabilitation. Following data analysis, five descriptive themes emerged: all-consuming effect of the illness, walking on eggshells, ambiguous loss, alone, and facing PTSD as a unit. The central meaning of these themes describes the widespread priority of the veterans’ illness, and the resulting isolation, grief, and apprehension experienced by intimate partners as they assume …

Supporting Student Veterans Utilizing Participatory Curriculum Development, Bryce A. Doehne

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An organizational level program utilizing Participatory Curriculum Development (PCD) (Taylor, 2003) is presented to assist postsecondary institutions with development, implementation, and evaluation of programs to support student veterans. Postsecondary institutions are provided with a “how to” program manual that includes literature-based core and supplemental programs, trauma-informed theory, and a methodological framework to implement programs. Practical program evaluation measures are offered to assist postsecondary institutions with evaluating the outcomes of their efforts to support student veterans. The electronic version of this dissertation is at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLink ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu

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 …

Transition And Transformation - From Military Combat To College Classroom: Strategies For Success, Charles Mark Brewer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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 …

Navy Personnel And Effects Of Select Factors On Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptomology, Thomas J. Palmer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since the establishment of the individual augmentee role within the U.S. Navy, little research has examined this nontraditional role associated with combat units. The majority of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research has been dedicated to Army and Marine Corps personnel with little research conducted on the Navy population. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to identify the prevalence of combat-related PTSD symptomology for Navy personnel returning from an augmentee tour. The link between component and tour length and the presence of individual resilience factors on PTSD were examined. The theoretical foundation of this research included the cognitive link …

Examining The Relationship Between Leadership Decision Making Styles And Personality Type Within The Department Of Defense, Antoine Lamont Prince Sr.

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Leadership is perhaps the single most important function within the Department of Defense. While the old cliché “everyone is a leader regardless of position” may hold moral meaning, personnel in leadership positions are key. Under the umbrella of leadership is decision making. What leadership is to an organization, decision making is to leadership. Yet, despite this knowledge, unsound decisions are readily conducted. There are various theories as to why this holds true, one of which is personality type. Research however, shows that there is a limited amount of relevant knowledge to determine if there is in fact a …

Child Maltreatment And Military-Connected Youth: Developing Protective School Communities: School Responses Of Referral And Clinical Interventions Do Not Address Needs Of Military Families, Kris T. De Pedro

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"Since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, more than 2 million school-aged youth in the United States have had a parent enlist in the military. About 1.2 million of these youth have experienced the deployment of a parent. Multiple and prolonged deployments and exposure to veteran trauma disrupt family relationships and financial stability. The deployment cycle also effects the mental health and well-being of service members and left-behind caregivers and children. Indeed, the caregivers in particular must cope with emotional stress and may have feelings of social isolation. Even when seeking help, left-behind caregivers may have difficulty locating …

Soldiers Returning From Deployment: A Qualitative Study Regarding Exposure, Coping, And Reintegration, Lisa A. Brenner, Lisa M. Betthauser, Nazanin Bahraini, Jaimie L. Lusk, Heidi Terrio, Ann I. Scher, Karen A. Schwab

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Student Scholarship

Purpose/Objective: The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore exposure to deployment-related physical and/or emotional trauma and associated symptoms among Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) soldiers. Interviews also focused on in-theater- and reintegration-related experiences. Research Method/Design: OEF/OIF soldiers (N = 103) participated in semistructured interviews, and a qualitative descriptive methodology was used to analyze the data. Results: Themes were identified regarding (a) common experiences related to emotional and physical traumas and associated symptoms and strategies for coping and making meaning of experiences and (b) how combat and reintegration experiences affected soldiers’ senses of self, relationships with others, …

2nd Place Contest Entry: Treatment Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder In A Veteran Population: Efficacy Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine Therapies, Brooke D. Snelgrove

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Brooke Snelgrove's submission for the 2014-2015 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won second place. She wrote about the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans with Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies. You can read the final essay that came out of her research here.

Research Brief: "Post-Sexual Assault Health Care Utilization Among Oef/Oif Servicewomen", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the use of medical and mental health services by servicewomen after sexual assault that occurred while in the military. In policy and practice, servicewomen who have been sexually assaulted should seek medical and mental healthcare in a timely manner, even if they don't believe it is necessary, to prevent HIV infection and pregnancy; the DoD should continue its use of the DoJ's gold standard of care while ensuring that servicewomen feel that they can reach out for post-assault healthcare. Suggestions for future research include sampling more servicewomen who utilize care, expanding the geographic spread of the …

Research Brief: "Behavioral Health And Adjustment To College Life For Student Service Members/Veterans", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about how prior military experience impacts veterans' mental health during transitions into academic life as college students. For policy and practice, student service members and veterans should seek help from on-campus mental health resources when needed, and faculty and staff should offer dialogue to educate civilian students about student service members' and veterans' experiences during transition; the VA should partner in academic institutions' efforts to improve and/or maintain student service member/veteran mental health. Suggestions for future research include drawing data from a larger and more diverse sample of both universities and student service members/veterans.

Research Brief: "Examining The Lived Experience And Factors Influencing Education Of Two Student Veterans Using Photovoice Methodology", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about how student veterans' military experiences impact their social and higher education experiences. In policy and practice, student veterans should seek help from faculty and staff, and universities should be available to address the needs of student veterans; the VA should increase its partnerships with universities to allow for additional access to resources for student veterans, and policymakers should support universities in creating student veteran centers. Suggestions for future research include expanding the size and diversity of the sample, reducing constraints on participants, and allowing for group-sharing experiences within the study.

Expatriate Adjustment Of U.S. Military On Foreign Assignment:The Role Of Personality And Cultural Intelligence In Adjustment, Jennifer Pauline Stockert

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The present study explored the relationships between personality, cultural intelligence, and adjustment to expatriate assignments. More narrowly, this study explored which facets of cultural intelligence are related to United States Air Force (USAF) members' adjustment to international assignments in Germany. The study also aimed to clarify the relationship between Big Five personality factors and adjustment in USAF expatriates. Expatriate adjustment was measured using the Expatriate Adjustment Scale by Black and Stephens (1989). Cultural Intelligence was measured using the Extended Cultural Intelligence Scale by Van Dyne, Ang, Ng, Rockstuhl, Tan, and Koh (2012). Big Five personality factors were measured using the …

Between Warrior And Helplessness In The Valley Of Azawa - The Struggle Of The Kel Tamashek In The War Of The Sahel, Patrick James Christian

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an Investigation into the Tuareg involvement in violent conflict in the Sahara and the Sahel of North Africa from a sociological psychological perspective of unmet human needs. The research begins by establishing the structure and texture of the sociological, psychological, and emotional life patterns of their existence when not involved in violent conflict. This is followed by an examination of the pathology of Tuareg social structures that are engaged in intra and inter communal violence as perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. The first part of the research establishes normal conditions of the sociological life cycle and highlights natural …

Reasons For Living And Self-Reported Suicidal Behavior Among A Sample Of U.S. Army Personnel, Deborah Elaine Willis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suicidal Behavior in the U.S. Army is a problem that persists despite significant efforts to promote help-seeking behaviors and the investment of millions of dollars to develop resilience-building interventions. Evidence-based literature supports the use of reasons for living as a protective factor against suicidal behavior in clinical and nonclinical samples, yet it has rarely been studied in an active duty (AD) Army population. This study examined the relationship between self-reported reasons for living and self-reported suicidal behavior, to determine if high levels of reasons for living correlated with low risk of suicidal behavior, over and above demographics, depression, stressful life …

Lived Experiences Of Military Personnel Reintegrating With Their Preschool Aged Children, Rob Atchison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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 …

Veterans In Transition: A Correlational Investigation Of Career Adaptability, Confidence, And Readiness, Schleurious Lavan Gaiter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Thousands of service persons and veterans may be leaving military service annually without required skills and not receiving timely career counseling and interventions needed to aid in their career transitions. Knowledge about service persons' career adaptability, confidence, and readiness could enhance the actions of all stakeholders to address the challenges that accompany career transitions and may aid in identifying needed counseling and interventions. Using a survey containing the Career Transitions Inventory and the Career Futures Inventory-Revised, perspectives were obtained from service persons (N = 264) while attending Transition Assistance Program workshops. Two research questions for the study examined associations between …

Military Enlistment: The Motivations Of Former Military Personnel Coming From Single-Parent Homes, Jada Amber Philips

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine how the single-parent home environment, together with other demographic attributes like socioeconomic status, influenced young adults' decisions to enlist in the military. Adolescents transitioning into adulthood are often faced with the choices of what to do after high school, such as whether or not to join the military. Previous studies on youth enlistment in the military do not address in-depth the question of why they enlist or their motivating factors. Interviews via face-to-face, over the phone or via Skype, were conducted with 9 participants between the ages of 25-35 years who were …

Exploring The Inner Experience Of Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Stacy Reger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Military veterans have returned from combat changed by exposure to trauma for as long as history has been recorded. The field of psychology contains a vast literature describing and attempting to understand Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its detrimental effects on the lives of individuals with the disorder. Despite the volume of study dedicated to PTSD in the literature, in-depth accounts of the lived experience of individuals with PTSD are rare. The current study utilized Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES), a method based on apprehending high-fidelity accounts of momentary inner experience, to explore the inner experience of eight Operation Iraqi Freedom …

Art Therapy And Cognitive Processing Therapy For Combat Ptsd: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Melissa Campbell

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Five veterans were recruited for this randomized controlled trial examining the effects of art therapy in conjunction with Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for veterans with combat PTSD. The results of this study supported our hypothesis that art therapy in combination with CPT would be more effective, and indicated that art therapy is a powerful form of treatment for this population and needs to be explored further. Other goals of this study were to gain a basic understanding of the benefits of art therapy for combat veterans with PTSD and if it should be included as a standard treatment for this …

Research Brief: "Coming Home: Attitudes Toward U.S. Veterans Returning From Iraq", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study focuses on men in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their experiences in service and reintegrating after combat. It also explores whether there is a stigma against these men made by the general public. The authors determined that in general, while the stereotypes of military personnel might be negative, the overall views of service were positive. Future research should address this paradox, as well as determine if there are factors of race and gender involved.

Research Brief: "Housing Instability And Mental Distress Among Us Veterans", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study highlights potential relationships between veteran mental health and veteran housing instability. This research shows that veterans reporting housing instability have an increased likelihood of symptoms of mental distress and mental illness, especially among female, younger, and unmarried veterans. Future researchers should conduct similar studies throughout the United States, as well as look at long-term data for the purpose of providing ways to improve quality of life for at-risk veterans.

Research Brief: “Clinical And Demographic Factors Associated With Employment Status In Us Military Veterans Returning From Iraq And Afghanistan”, Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief focuses on the connection between employment status and veterans with or without PTSD, mild Traumatic Brain Injury, sleep issues, or pain issues. In practice, depression and those 40+ years of age were associated with the employment status in this study of a sample of post-deployment U.S. veterans. In policy, it is found that policymakers should know that veterans' adjustment issues may not be the threshold of being effective employees. Future research could target combat veterans’ motivations and the ability to pursue education, as well as a study of those who are employed and have had an mTBI and …

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 …

Research Brief: "Cultural And Ethical Considerations When Working With Military Personnel And Veterans: A Primer For Va Training Programs", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

The study addresses the cultural differences when working with veteran populations compared to civilian populations, specifically regarding training people to work for VA programs. This is applicable to understanding military related cultural competence through mental health, history, terminology, and culture. Future research proposed includes exploring the benefits of cultural competence training.

Research Brief: "Partnering With Communities To Address The Mental Health Needs Of Rural Veterans", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This research focuses on veterans in rural communities who have less access to mental health providers. The Yellow Ribbon Task Force program promoted and encouraged engagement in mental health care for veterans in rural communities, although future policies should enhance already existing clinical practices to increase standards for care. For further study, researchers should focus on evaluating initial program implementation and pilot testing in a variety of states and rural populations.

Shared Leadership In Dangerous Environments: Testing A Model For Military Teams Using Mixed Methods Research, Alex J. Ramthun

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In a field study, the dissertation examined the influence of shared leadership on team performance for 51 military combat teams in a simulated dangerous environment. To simulate the dangerous context, the study employed amilitary tactical urban fighting complex, paintball weapons, role players, and a dynamic combat scenario. Using social network analysis techniques and after controlling for team diversity and combat experience, the study found the density measure of shared leadership to be positively and significantly related to team performance, accounting for 40% of the variance in team performance. This research also found both the centralization measure and density/centralization interaction effect …