Student Veterans Research Articles

Veterans in Counseling Programs: Military Service and the Counselor Training Process

The authors conducted a transcendental phenomenological study to acquire a deeper understanding of graduate student veterans’ experiences in counselor training programs and explore how military background influences counselor development. Results are based on semi-structured interviews with eight graduate student veterans enrolled in counseling programs across the United States. Four themes resulted which impacted counselor training processes (a) military behaviors, values, and identity (b) military counseling cultural contrasts, (c) integrating military service into counselor training, and (d) veteran-friendly suggestions for counseling programs. This study presented a range of experiences graduate student veterans have in counselor training programs, concluding that this student population provides a unique and valuable cultural perspective that warrants independent consideration and representation in counselor training. We further discuss implications for counselor education and future research to better support this student population.

The impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health behaviors in student veterans

Background and aimsPandemics have previously resulted in increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It is unclear if the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be amplified in individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease, such as military populations, resulting in augmented cardiovascular events in Veterans. The purpose of this study was to determine if traditional behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular disease are amplified due to the COVID-19 pandemic and if risk factors are more prevalent in Veterans compared to non-Veterans. Methods and resultsThirty-two student Veterans and 46 non-Veteran students between the ages of 18 and 35 completed a Qualtrics self-report questionnaire assessing health behaviors, physical activity, and mental health both before and during COVID-19. Veterans displayed worse pre-COVID cardiovascular health behaviors such as poor sleep habits, greater use of tobacco, alcohol, and energy drinks, and lower values of social engagement compared to non-Veterans. Many health behaviors remained unchanged in student Veterans during the pandemic. The non-Veteran group exhibited augmentation of cardiovascular health behaviors during COVID-19, shown through the worsening sleep habits, increased anxiety, and reduced physical activity. ConclusionStudent Veterans demonstrate heightened risk for cardiovascular disease based on the pre-COVID elevation of behavioral risk factors. These behavioral factors continued to remain elevated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-Veteran students displayed amplification of behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular disease due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These results highlight the need for resources and interventions for our student veterans and suggest long-term cardiovascular consequences for all students who suffered through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study reveals increase in mental health crises for student veterans

Student veterans lost access to needed support services, while at the same time reported increases in mental health crises, during the COVID‐19 pandemic, according to a survey released by Operation College Promise.

Integrating College Student Veterans on Campus through Peer Mentorship Programs

In 2020, approximately 2 million veterans attended colleges and universities in the U.S. College student veterans face unique challenges integrating into campus environments and completing their degrees. Research has shown that these students take longer to complete their degrees and have difficulty integrating into campus environments and connecting to traditional students, who are often in different developmental stages and life circumstances. Colleges and universities across the United States vary widely in terms of resources for student veterans, with just over half offering programs for veterans. Schools that have peer mentorship programs to enhance integration and persist in education have been shown to be successful. In order to grow the existence of peer mentorship programs, colleges and universities should consider replicating existing models that have proven successful. Campus stakeholders from students to administration are critical to the implementation of college student veteran peer mentorship programs. Social Work is uniquely positioned to play a key role for these programs. Social Workers can offer advocacy, clinical work, education, and scholarship to aid in the implementation of peer mentorship programs and integration of college student veterans on campus.

A Continuing Mission: Development of a Veterans' Baccalaureate Nursing Program.

With more than two million veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, programs are needed that prepare veterans for careers in civilian life. Veterans desire to continue their education and require assistance accessing their GI Bill, other financial benefits, receipt of college credit for military training and experience, and adapting to the college environment. A veterans baccalaureate nursing (VBSN) program addresses the challenges of veterans getting into and staying in school. This VBSN program was developed to provide academic structure and support from a dedicated veteran case manager. Policies were created to address the need for student veterans to petition for course credit based on their military training and experience. The VBSN program has been successful, growing from three students to 29 currently enrolled and 34 graduates. This program meets the needs of student veterans while adding to the nursing workforce. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(11):646-650.].

Assessing the Impact of Military Cultural-Competence Training: Lessons for Creating an Inclusive Campus Environment

Campuses are increasingly offering military cultural-competency professional development training to staff and faculty to support military-connected students. Using four years of program data, we examine outcomes for a custom training, including retention of content knowledge, application of lessons on campus, and comparison of outcomes for in-person and online versions of the training. Results suggest that participants, both in-person and online, developed higher confidence and greater capacity to support student veterans. Evidence for examining training impact included correct response rates on a post-training quiz, scaled perceptions data, and open-ended feedback. Implications for research on the effectiveness of military cultural competency training are discussed, along with recommendations for creating an inclusive campus culture for military-connected students.

Improving Healthcare Access and Utilization Among Student Veterans Through Supported Education: A Case Series

Compared to their civilian counterparts, Veterans have higher rates of mental health difficulties but are less likely to utilize health services. Since 2009, more than 1.4 million Veterans, service members, and their families have used the Post 9/11 GI Bill to fund their education, suggesting that college campuses are potential environments to reach Veterans with unmet health care needs. The Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership-Supported Education (VITAL-SEd) program was developed using psychiatric rehabilitation principles to provide in-person access to academic interventions, mental health programming, and access to additional services for unmet needs. The cases of three student Veterans are reported to demonstrate the implementation process and impact of VITAL-SEd in facilitating healthcare access and utilization among student Veterans. An outline of the VITAL-SEd model utilized is offered, and analyses of these three cases provided reveal the following practical implication themes: (1) responding to expressed educational needs helped build rapport and trust, thereby facilitating identification of unmet healthcare needs, (2) promoting Veteran choice and self-direction can shift student Veterans from a deficit to empowerment model of their own academic role, (3) using an integrated-health care lens within the context of SEd can help Veterans obtain both academic and health-management skills. Overall, results provide preliminary evidence of the usefulness and feasibility of the VITAL-SEd model.

Relationships Between Positive Human Traits and PERMA (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments) in Student Veterans With and Without Disabilities: A Canonical Correlation Analysis

PurposeWe explored the relationships between positive human traits and positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement (PERMA) the core elements for Seligman's model of happiness and well-being.MethodTwo hundred and five student veterans (147 males and 58 females; 80 with service-related disability) were recruited from several colleges and universities across the United States. Participants completed positive human traits measures on resilience, hope, optimism, attachment, and coping, along with the PERMA Profiler that measures the five core elements of the well-being theory. Correlational techniques and canonical correlation analysis were computed to examine the canonical relationship between positive human traits and PERMA variables.ResultsOverall, the positive human traits set accounted for 37% of the variance in the PERMA set, whereas the PERMA set accounted for 51% of the variance in the positive human traits set.ConclusionsThe research findings suggest that human traits can be conceptualized as building blocks for PERMA, and PERMA are the core elements for happiness and well-being. Importantly, student veterans with disabilities had significantly lower resilience, secure attachment and PERMA scores. Positive psychology interventions to help student veterans, especially students with service-related disabilities, develop character strengths, and PERMA could improve college life adjustment and goal persistence of student veterans.

Student veterans in higher education: The critical role of veterans resource centers

Objective To examine how veterans resource centers (VRCs) and corresponding services influence student veteran transitions by applying the Schlossberg Transition Model. Participants 12 student support staff and 6 junior/senior undergraduate student veterans at a four-year public university in California. Methods In-depth semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with diverse group of university staff and student veterans. Thematic analyses were conducted to identify salient factors that help promote successful transition to college life. Results Overarching theme was the significance of the university’s veterans resource center (VRC), which is a designated space that facilitates connectedness and student engagement; fosters collaborations across student support services via liaisons to increase access to vital services/resources on/off campus, provides peer-to-peer mentorship; and includes staff, who understand military culture. Conclusions Higher education should expand supporting student veterans by having a VRC to help them successfully transition to college life; this would ultimately improve retention and graduation rates.

Is Gratitude Associated With Suicidal Ideation in Veterans With Mental Illness and Student Veterans With PTSD Symptoms?

The present study is aimed to identify the effect of gratitude as an adaptive regulating mechanism from suicidal ideation (SI) for veterans with mental illness (study 1) and student veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (study 2) in the United States. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used to examine sociodemographic characteristics and relationships between gratitude and SI. Our study 1 consisted of 156 veterans with mental illness. The mean age for study 1 was 37.85. Our study 2 consisted of 232 student veterans with PTSD symptoms. The mean age for study 2 was 28.43. Higher gratitude scores in study 1 and study 2 were significantly associated with lower SI scores after adjusting for demographics and depression. This study partially supports the association between gratitude and SI in veterans with mental illness. Based on the results from this study, gratitude interventions may be effective in reducing SI when working with veterans with mental illness.

Predictors of Student Veterans’ Use of Mental Health Services

Abstract Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. A quantitative survey study to understand how critical factors such as quality of life, perceived stigma, and perceived barriers to care influence utilization of health care services. Results identified the importance of physical quality of life and perceived stigma on student veterans’ use of mental health services. Research on what drives mental health usage is a step toward destigmatizing the use of mental health services and improving available veteran campus resources. Primary Author and Speaker: Yan-hua Huang Additional Authors and Speakers: Adrian Patrick Tolentino Navarro, Lorie Park Micaella Salunga, Kimberly Vu Vanessa, Ortiz Jocelinne, Torres-Lizarde, and Monique Sanchez

Empowering Female [Student] Veterans through Community Writing and Experiential Learning in the Classroom

This article argues for the importance of community writing groups on college campuses targeted towards female veterans to aid in female student veterans’ successful transition to the university. Female veterans, in general, often face a host of additional challenges upon homecoming compared to their male counterparts including, but not limited to, higher incidents of depression, repression of memories of military sexual trauma (MST), and struggles to reacclimate to caretaker roles as wives and/or mothers. While Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) can play an important role in rebuilding eroded support levels and creating a social bridge for transitioning veterans, studies indicate that many current organizations do not reach women veterans with ideal effect. This article argues that the presence of veteran community writing groups on college campuses that are directed toward females may encourage female student veterans to disclose and self-identity their veteran status. Further, given data that indicates returning female veterans are likelier to have negative personal and family reintegration experiences, female veteran focused community writing groups can provide a much-desired sense of comradery, increase social connectivity and positive relation to the university, and serve as an outlet for secure emotional expression.

Соціальна підтримка інтеграційних практик українських ветеранів у закладах вищої освіти

The article studies the features of social adaptation of veteran students in Ukrainian universities. The motivation of Ukrainian veterans to enter universities has been analysed. The main problems of their social adaptation to the university environment are revealed. Some results of five in-depth semi-structured interviews with veteran students in Kharkiv universities are presented. In particular, the value foundations of veterans’ motivation to enrol in universities have been identified. It is emphasised that veteran students perceive higher education as both terminal and instrumental value. Attention is focused on the fact that the value ambivalence influenced the educational motivation of veterans, for whom entering the university is an opportunity, on the one hand, to become an educated and self-realised person (terminal value) and, on the other hand, to have a good salary, make a career, take a higher status position in society (instrumental value). The positive influence of the military experience of veterans on their educational practices has been revealed. The opinion of most respondents is given regarding the fact that the army has taught them discipline, punctuality, which made them more self-confident. It is concluded that military experience contributes to developing some metacognitive learning skills in veterans, such as discipline and punctuality. The problems of academic integration of veteran students are considered. It is emphasised that veteran students do not experience difficulties in communication with other students and teachers and are not inclined to segregate from them. At the same time, there is little involvement of Ukrainian veterans in the university environment, which can be optimized in terms of social support for veterans in Ukrainian higher education. The author’s model of social support for student veterans in Ukrainian universities is presented.

The Process of Learning Mindfulness and Acceptance through the Use of a Mobile App Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Grounded Theory Analysis

ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore the process of how college student military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms learn mindfulness and acceptance through the use of a mobile app based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Twenty-three college student veterans with PTSD symptoms participated in the 4-week ACT mobile app-based intervention and took part in three weekly semi-structured interviews. Results of the grounded theory data analysis reveal the core category of Mindful Scaffolding, a process indicating how student veterans cope with the interruptions and intrusions associated with learning mindfulness and acceptance through the use of the ACT-based app. The grounded theory provides a foundational theoretical framework for increasing adherence with using mindfulness- and acceptance-based mobile app interventions for PTSD.

Grit is associated with decreased mental health help-seeking among student veterans

Objective: To examine the role of grit as a mediator of the relationship between student-veteran status and not seeking mental health help. Participants: A diverse and nationally representative sample of students (8,203 women, 4,934 men) from 18 U.S. colleges and universities included in the Understanding Student Distress and Academic Success study was used. Method: Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to assess associations between military service, grit, and help seeking. Results: Military service was positively associated with both facets of grit: consistency of interests (CI) and perseverance of effort (PE). CI, but not PE, mediated the relationship between military service and never having sought mental health help. Conclusions: These results suggest that grit mediates the relationship between military service and not seeking mental health help. Interventions for student-veterans that emphasize the utility of mental health treatment may be useful to diminish the negative influence of grit on help-seeking.

Transitions of Student Military Veterans into Engineering Education

As student veterans transition to four-year institutions from the military, they navigate pathways that are often neither linear nor easy. Using Turner’s theory of liminality, we examine student veterans’ perspectives of the transition from military to civilian life. Interviewees include 60 student veterans from all military branches from four universities in the USA. Student veterans describe successes and challenges as they matriculate into engineering education as transfer students. Analyses of qualitative data yield original findings about the importance of mentors and student veteran networks for fostering student veterans’ educational interests and in promoting their persistence. This study uses a framework of liminality to highlight the bridge between prior military position and a forthcoming reentry into society with a new professional identity as an engineer. In describing their studies, student veterans greatly valued military-learned skills, such as patience, discipline, and technical skills, that give them an advantage in their engineering studies. These findings will be relevant to researchers studying transitions in general and researchers investigating veterans or other populations experiencing transitions. University leaders, including student affairs administrators, faculty members, and others who serve the student veteran community will also benefit from the results.

Homecoming and College Transition Narratives of Student Military Veterans

ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the homecoming and college transition narratives constructed by student veterans in order to help college clinicians a) to more holistically understand these veterans and their experiences, b) to more fully enter their phenomenological worlds, and c) to form more genuine and effective therapeutic relationships with them. Twelve student veteran participants were interviewed, and six common themes emerged from the analysis. Theoretical and clinical implications are provided, as well as more practical recommendations for college clinicians on how to increase campus-wide support and inclusivity for their student veterans.

All We Can Be: Innovations to Improve the Pipeline of Military Veterans in Medical Schools

Issue Medical schools are increasingly identifying military veteran applicants as a source of diversity, resiliency, and commitment—often derived from their personal experiences in the military. Yet, veterans remain significantly under-represented in entering classes; moreover, those veterans who do matriculate are not yet fully reflective of the diversity that the Armed Forces have to offer. Fortunately, specific measures have been shown to be effective at increasing both the number and diversity of student veterans in medical school. Evidence In 2019, there were less than 60 military veterans who entered the 144 civilian medical schools in the United States, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. We identify common barriers faced by military veterans and propose best practices for medical schools to recruit and sustain them. We draw on the existing medical education literature about veteran support systems, and we underscore the unique challenges of veterans in medicine. Finally, we highlight innovative programs currently in place at several US medical schools that seek to address the needs of student veterans. This article provides a guide for how to recruit, assess, and nurture student veterans, suggesting a new way of thinking about this population of nontraditional medical students. Implications This dearth of servicemembers significantly below what would be expected based on national demographic data is indicative of how medical schools offer few pathways to entry for military servicemembers—and far fewer for enlisted personnel and other populations traditionally under-represented in medicine. Should schools aim to recruit a veteran population that is truly representative of the military, additional measures need to be taken into consideration during the admissions review process.

Exploring the relationships between resilience, mindfulness, and experiential avoidance after the use of a mindfulness- and acceptance-based mobile app for posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study used a mindfulness- and acceptance-based mobile app to examine the relationships between resilience, mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. A quasi-experimental pre-posttest, single-group study design was used. A total of 23 college student veterans used the app for 4 weeks. Outcomes of resilience, mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and PTSD were measured at three time-points (baseline, end of Week 2, and end of Week 4). All outcomes significantly improved at postintervention. Improvements in resilience and PTSD significantly correlated with improvement in mindfulness. Mindfulness- and acceptance-based mobile apps can be safely used by individuals with PTSD as a complementary approach to enhance resilient coping with PTSD.

Text Analysis for Understanding Symptoms of Social Anxiety in Student Veterans

A significant portion of the veteran population suffers from PTSD, a mental illness that is often accompanied by social anxiety disorder. Student veterans are especially vulnerable as they struggle to adapt to a new, less structured college lifestyle. In order to assist psychologists and social workers in the treatment of social anxiety disorder we use machine learning to analyze transcribed interview text and apply topic modelling to highlight common stress factors for student veterans. The results detailed in this paper also have broader impacts in fields such as pedagogy and public health.