Explore the unique challenges faced by Student Service Members/Veterans in college, including mental health stigma, substance misuse, and adaptation difficulties. Discover the aims, methods, and measures of a study investigating the relationships between military service and college life adjustment, aiming to enhance support resources for this important population.
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Examining Student Service Members/Veterans (SSM/V) Risk, Resilience, and Adjustment in College Michael Quin and Michael Gawrysiak
Background Student Service Members/ Veterans (SSM/V) are an important proportion of the university population. SSM/V are individuals that completed basic training, have served/still serving active duty, or completed their military commitment. SSM/V may be uniquely at risk for mental health challenges that civilian students do not face. Specifically, SSM/V may experience greater mental health stigma, engage in problematic drug/alcohol misuse, and experience more difficulty adjusting to college life.
Aims Aim 1: Identify relationships between prior military service and risk, resilience, and adjustment to college life. Aim 2: Identify resilience factors to posttraumatic stress. This project aims to help improve current resources and help conceptualize new methods of treatment for SSM/V.
Methods Participants were recruited with assistance from the Greg and Sandra Weisenstein Veterans Center (GSW-VC) at WCU. Participants were emailed a survey link from the GSW-VC and asked to voluntarily complete the study. Participants anonymously completed 10 questionnaires assessing a range of variables directly relevant to SSM/V.
Measures Demographics Age, sex, ethnicity, student status, military branch, etc. Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ) Measures overall adjustment GRIT Scale Sustaining interest/perseverance toward goals Reward Probability Index (RPI) Availability of reward/ engagement in rewarding activities Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ- 15) Trait mindfulness across 5 domains: Observing, describing, acting with awareness, non- judging, and non-reactivity Deployment Risk & Resilience Inventory (DRRI-2) Combat exposure Drug-Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) Drug use and severity Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) Difficulties in Emotion Regulation - Short Form (DERS-SF) Emotion dysregulation in 5 domains: non- acceptance, goals, impulse, awareness, strategies, and clarity PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) Severity of posttraumatic stress
Participants o n = 47 o Age *Data collection is on-going o Range: 18-59 o Mean: 28.55 n = 47 Gender: 33 males o Student Status o First Years: 4 o Sophomores: 8 o Juniors: 10 o Seniors: 10 o 5th year or above: 15 14 females Ethnicity: Non-Hispanic White: 36 Black or African American: 5 Other: 6
Participants Military Branch Military Occupation Examples Army: 19 Combat Engineer Marine Corps: 7 Linguist Navy: 2 Infantry Air Force: 4 Intelligence Analyst National Guard: 6 Civil Affairs Other: 3 (Army Reserves, Air National Guard) Reconnaissance Deployment 24 Yes (10 deployed more than once) 17 No Locations include; Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, Kuwait, Haiti, U.A.E., etc.
SSM/V Challenges Reports Open-ended responses listing challenges faced by SSM/V Time management Lack of connection to university/ other students Culture shock - Regression, less responsibility, lack of understanding from student population Age disconnect (M = 28.55) Balancing service requirements with academic work
SSM/V Systems of Support Reports Open-ended responses listing forms of support Fellow SSM/V GSW-VC - Mentioned by majority of respondents. Space to work, place to connect with other SSM/V, assistance with planning/academics GI Bill, ~900,000 students in the U.S. enrolled via the GI Bill (Bond Hill, 2019) GI Bill: Several respondents mentioned the post 9/11 GI Bill. Individuals that served active duty after 9/11/2001 may receive benefits to assist them with tuition, fees, housing, and school supplies (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2021).
Mindfulness and Posttraumatic Stress Mindfulness can be defined as the nonjudgmental awareness of present moment experiences, including thoughts, feelings, and sensations (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that may develop in individuals after experiencing a traumatic event (i.e. combat) (APA, 2021). Mindfulness-based interventions have shown promising results for combatting PTSD symptom severity.
Results PCL-5 Scores Mean = 15.29, SD = 16.85, Range = 0-72 Cutoff score indicating a provisional PTSD diagnosis = 33. 4 participants above cutoff score Correlations (PCL-5 and FFMQ) o FFMQ-Describe: (r = -.412, p = .015) o FFMQ-Awareness: (r = -.357, p = .038) o FFMQ-NonJudge: (r = -.647. p < .000
Discussion Results indicate an inverse relationship between PTSD symptom severity and mindfulness. Of the 47 participants only 4 met criteria for a provisional PTSD diagnosis. Need for more research and resources within SSM/V population. Mindfulness-based programs for the SSM/V population may help to reduce PTSD symptom severity. Future research should attempt to replicate findings in a more diverse sample of SSM/V.
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