Social identity and the mental health and wellbeing of male veterans
Słowa kluczowe:
warrior identity, psychological wellbeing, anxiety, depression, veteransAbstrakt
Background
Previous work has linked disruptions in one’s social identity to increased levels of depression and suicide among veterans. This study examines the relationship between veteran social identity (as measured by the public and private regard subscales of the Warrior Identity Scale) and mental health and wellbeing among male veterans.
Participants and procedure
Male veterans (N = 67) completed the Warrior Identity Scale as well as various measures of mental health and wellbeing.
Results
The hypotheses were supported in that more positive views of one’s social identity (i.e., more private regard) predicted significantly fewer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, less depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, stress, and more perceived social support. More public regard, on the other hand, was related to more PTSD symptoms.
Conclusions
This research adds to the growing work on the importance of social identity (as measured by public and private regard) in predicting mental health symptomatology among male veterans, which may act as important risk factors in clinical settings.
Downloads
Bibliografia
Ahern, J., Worthen, M., Masters, J., Lippman, S. A., Ozer, E. J., & Moos, R. (2015). The challenges of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans’ transition from military to civilian life and approaches to reconnection. PloS One, 10, e0128599. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0128599
Bullock, K., Garland, J., & Coupar, F. (2020). Police officer transitions to retirement in the United Kingdom: Social identity, social support, and (in) justice. Policing and Society, 30, 1123–1137. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2019.1664522
Cohen S., Mermelstein R., Kamarck T., & Hoberman, H. M. (1985). Measuring the functional components of social support. In I. G. Sarason & B. R. Sarason (Eds.), Social support: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 73–94). Springer.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202
Heath, P. J., Vogel, D. L., Vidales, C., & Abraham, W. T. (2022). Measurement invariance of suicide screening measures across military branch. Military Psychology, 34, 280–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2021.1962186
Jetten, J., Haslam, C., Haslam, S. A., Dingle, G., & Jones, J. M. (2014). How groups affect our health and well-being: The path from theory to policy. Social Issues and Policy Review, 8, 103–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12003
Joiner, T. (2005). Why people die by suicide. Harvard University Press.
Kang, H. K., Bullman, T. A., Smolenski, D. J., Skopp, N. A., Gahm, G. A., & Reger, M. A. (2015). Suicide risk among 1.3 million veterans who were on active duty during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Annals of Epidemiology, 25, 96–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2014.11.020
Klonsky, E. D., & May, A. M. (2015). The three-step theory (3ST): a new theory of suicide rooted in the “ideation-to-action” framework. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 8, 114–129. https://doi.org/10.1521/ijct.2015.8.2.114
Lancaster, S. L., & P. Hart, R. (2015). Military identity and psychological functioning: a pilot study. Military Behavioral Health, 3, 83–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/21635781.2014.995254
Lancaster, S. L., Kintzle, S., & Castro, C. A. (2018). Validation of the Warrior Identity Scale in the Chicagoland veterans study. Identity, 18, 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2017.1410157
Linehan, M. M., & Nielsen, S. L. (1981). Assessment of suicide ideation and parasuicide: Hopelessness and social desirability. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 773–775. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.49.5.773
Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21, DASS-42). APA PsycTests. https://doi.org/10.1037/t01004-000
Mendrek, P., Osiak, B., & Goniewicz, K. (2019). Social support for veterans taking part in military service outside their country’s borders. Health Psychology Report, 7, 177–182. https://doi.org/10.5114/hpr.2019.87289
Moldovan, J. A. (2018). Authenticity at work: Harmonizing title VII with free speech jurisprudence to protect employee authenticity in the workplace. N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change, 42, 699–751.
Nguyen, D. T., Wright, E. P., Dedding, C., Pham, T. T., & Bunders, J. (2019). Low self-esteem and its association with anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation in Vietnamese secondary school students: a cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, 698. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00698
Osman, A., Bagge, C. L., Gutierrez, P. M., Konick, L. C., Kopper, B. A., & Barrios, F. X. (2001). The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R): Validation with clinical and nonclinical samples. Assessment, 8, 443–454. https://doi.org/10.1177/107319110100800409
Robison, J. M., Greco, L., Huntsman, D., & Li, D. (2021). A dark side of team identification: Negative effects in the stress and coping process for firefighters. Academy of Management Proceedings, 1, 156–157.
Tajfel, H. (1978). The achievement of inter-group differentiation. In H. Tajfel (Ed.), Differentiation between social groups (pp. 77–100). Academic Press.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of inter-group conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Brooks/Cole.
Thompson, J. M., Dursun, S., VanTil, L., Heber, A., Kitchen, P., de Boer, C., Black, T., Montelpare, B., Coady, T., Sweet, J., & Pedlar, D. (2019). Group identity, difficult adjustment to civilian life, and suicidal ideation in Canadian Armed Forces veterans: Life After Service Studies 2016. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, 5, 100–114. https://doi.org/10.3138/jmvfh.2018-0038
Weathers, F. W., Litz, B. T., Keane, T. M., Palmieri, P. A., Marx, B. P., & Schnurr, P. P. (2013). PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Retrieved from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/adult-sr/ptsdchecklist.asp
Wood, V. M., & Charbonneau, D. (2018). Gender, selfefficacy, and warrior identification in Canadian Army personnel. Journal of Gender Studies, 27, 747–758. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2017.1301812