scholarly journals WAR COHORT DIFFERENCES IN MILITARY SERVICE APPRAISALS AND HOMECOMING EXPERIENCES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S697-S697
Author(s):  
Dylan Lee ◽  
Soyoung Choun ◽  
Maria Kurth ◽  
Hyunyup Lee ◽  
Carolyn M Aldwin
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Persian Gulf ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Cohort Differences ◽  
The Persian Gulf

Abstract Nearly all the research on appraisals of military service and homecoming experiences have been done on World War II veterans. However, Spiro et al. (2016) hypothesized that there were war cohort differences in military experiences that could affect life-long adaptation. For example, Boscarino et al. (2018) found that Vietnam veterans reported less welcoming homecoming experiences than OEF/OIF/OND veterans. We examined war cohort differences among OEF/OIF/OND, Persian Gulf, and Vietnam combat veterans in military service appraisals and homecoming experiences. We used pilot data from Veterans Aging: Longitudinal studies in Oregon (VALOR) from an online survey. The sample included male and female combat veterans (Mage = 58.1, SD = 12.0, range = 35-83, 30.5% female): 39 from the OEF/OIF/OND, 68 from the Persian Gulf War, and 60 from the Vietnam War cohorts. Comparable to earlier studies (e.g., Aldwin et al., 1994), combat veterans were surprisingly much more likely to endorse desirable appraisals than the undesirable ones, with each of the 14 desirable appraisals endorsed by over 90% of the veterans. Fewer endorsed the undesirable experience items; the most common was separation from loved ones and loss of friends. Most also reported positive homecoming experiences. Contrary to expectations, ANOVAs revealed that there were no significant differences in appraisals of desirable and undesirable military service experiences, nor in homecoming experiences among the war cohorts. In this small sample, military experiences were perceived similarly among combat veterans despite differences in wartime experiences. Most felt that positive experiences resulted from their desirable military service.

scholarly journals PTSD Symptoms Among Vietnam, Persian Gulf, and Post-9/11 Combat Veterans: Findings From VALOR

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 636-637
Author(s):  
Maria Kurth ◽  
Carolyn Aldwin ◽  
Richard Settersten
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Persian Gulf ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Combat Exposure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Cohort Differences ◽  
The Persian Gulf

Abstract Much is known about the mental health of combat Vietnam Veterans, but less is known about Persian Gulf and post-9/11 veterans and how they compare to those from earlier eras. Using data from an online survey of Oregon veterans, we examine how PTSD symptoms differ by combat exposure across these three cohorts. The sample (N=167, Mage=57.86, SD=12.09), was largely composed of White (88%), male (69%) Veterans. Most served in the Persian Gulf (41%), followed by Vietnam (36%) and post-9/11 (23%) eras. ANCOVAs showed significant cohort differences in PTSD, after controlling for severity of combat exposure and demographics (age, gender, education, income) (F(2, 157) = 4.24, p < .05). Post-9/11 veterans had significantly lower PTSD symptom severity than Vietnam-era veterans but were comparable to Persian Gulf. There were no cohort differences for noncombat veterans. Future research should investigate why Vietnam veterans continue to have worse mental health than younger veteran cohorts. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group.

scholarly journals Veteran Status Matters! Life Course Perspectives on the Health and Well-Being of Aging Veterans

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 636-636
Author(s):  
Avron Spiro
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Veteran Status ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Military service during early life can result in exposure to traumatic events that can reverberate throughout life. Although much attention is focused on the negative effects of military service, many veterans report positive effects. These papers explore life course effects of military service on veterans’ health and well-being. Three used national US longitudinal cohorts (HRS, MIDUS); two sampled veterans from Oregon or from Korea. Three compared veterans to non-veterans; two examined veterans only. Cheng and colleagues found that veterans in HRS are more likely to be risk-averse than non-veterans. Risk aversion matters because it determines how people make decisions and predicts a wide array of health and economic outcomes. Kurth and colleagues examined Oregon veterans from several wars, finding PTSD symptoms were highest among Vietnam combat veterans, the oldest cohort; there were no differences among non-combat veterans. Piazza and colleagues examined in MIDUS the impact of veteran status on cortisol, a stress biomarker, finding older veterans more likely had non-normative patterns than did younger or non-veterans. Lee and colleagues studied patterns of mental health among Korean Vietnam veterans, identifying two patterns as ‘normal’ and ‘resilient’ encompassing half the sample; these veterans demonstrated positive outcomes of military service. Frochen and colleagues compared depression trajectories between veterans and non-veterans in HRS, finding veterans had less depression than non-veterans, but among veterans, trajectories varied based on extent of service. in sum, these papers demonstrate that military service can have positive as well as negative effects on veterans’ health and well-being in later life. Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

Association of Potential for Deaths of Despair With Age and Military Service Era

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen A Fairman ◽  
Kelsey Buckley
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Substance Use Disorder ◽  
Persian Gulf ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Religious Service Attendance ◽  
Deaths Of Despair

ABSTRACT Introduction Predictors of deaths of despair, including substance use disorder, psychological distress, and suicidality, are known to be elevated among young adults and recent military veterans. Limited information is available to distinguish age effects from service-era effects. We assessed these effects on indicators of potential for deaths of despair in a large national sample of U.S. adults aged ≥19 years. Materials and Methods The study was a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of publicly available data for 2015-2019 from 201,846 respondents to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which measures psychological symptoms and substance use behaviors using standardized scales and diagnostic definitions. Indicators of potential for a death of despair included liver cirrhosis, past-year serious suicidal ideation, serious psychological distress per the Kessler-6 scale, and active substance use disorder (e.g., binge drinking on ≥5 occasions in the past month, nonmedical use of prescribed controlled substances, and illicit drug use). Bivariate, age-stratified bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using statistical software and tests appropriate for the NSDUH complex sampling design. Covariates included demographic characteristics, chronic conditions, and religious service attendance. Results Indicators were strongly and consistently age-associated, with ≥1 indicator experienced by 45.5% of respondents aged 19-25 years and 10.7% of those aged ≥65 years (P < .01). After age stratification, service-era effects were modest and occurred only among adults aged ≥35 years. The largest service-associated increase was among adults aged 35-49 years; service beginning or after 1975 was associated (P < .01), with increased prevalence of ≥1 indicator (30.2%-34.2% for veterans and 25.2% for nonveterans) or ≥2 indicators (6.4%-8.2% for veterans and 5.4% for nonveterans). Covariate-adjusted results were similar, with adjusted probabilities of ≥1 indicator declining steadily with increasing age: among those 19-34 years, 39.9% of nonveterans and 42.2% of Persian Gulf/Afghanistan veterans; among those aged ≥65 years, 10.3% of nonveterans, 9.2% of World War II/Korea veterans, and 14.4% of Vietnam veterans. Conclusions After accounting for age, military service-era effects on potential for a death of despair were modest but discernible. Because underlying causes of deaths of despair may vary by service era (e.g., hostility to Vietnam service experienced by older adults versus environmental exposures in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan), providers treating veterans of different ages should be sensitive to era-related effects. Findings suggest the importance of querying for symptoms of mental distress and actively engaging affected individuals, veteran or nonveteran, in appropriate treatment to prevent deaths of despair.

Understanding Mail Survey Response Rates among Female Reserve Component Veterans Serving during the Persian Gulf War

1999 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 653-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter R. Schumm ◽  
Anthony P. Jurich ◽  
Stephan R. Bollman ◽  
Diane Sanders ◽  
Carlos Castelo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Persian Gulf ◽  
Military Service ◽  
National Guard ◽  
Mail Survey ◽  
Response Rates ◽  
Gulf War ◽  
Persian Gulf War ◽  
Service Component ◽  
Desert Storm ◽  
The Persian Gulf

In this study of current and former female reservists and National Guard members from the state of Ohio, veterans who were older, who had more years of military service, who had participated in the Gulf War, who were Euro-Americans, who were or had been married, and who were higher in rank tended to have more valid addresses and higher response rates, thus biasing sample outcomes in those directions. Educational attainment, branch of service, component of service, and residential stability appeared to be less important, although some significant findings were noted. Implications for further research on Desert Storm are discussed. In general, those veterans who might have been expected to have a greater investment in U.S. society were more likely to respond to a survey concerning Desert Storm era military service and its aftermath.

“The Most Important Human Salvage Operation in the History of Our Country”

Rough Draft ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 128-156
Author(s):  
Amy J. Rutenberg
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Military Service ◽  
National Guard ◽  
Conscientious Objector ◽  
White Middle Class ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Vietnam War ◽  
Minority Men

Chapter six argues that in working to avoid the draft, men during the Vietnam War did not behave terribly differently from men during World War II or the Korean War. Rather, it was the context of their actions that changed. This chapter affirms that the historical conditions of the Vietnam War, particularly the advent of draft counseling, made it easier for men to engage in draft avoidance behavior. But it also argues that the military manpower policies of the previous decades influenced their choices. Because policies and practices privileged men with the resources to attend college, gain admittance to the National Guard or Reserves, find sympathetic doctors, or write reasoned belief statements in conscientious objector applications, white, middle-class men were the most successful at avoiding the draft. For them, military service was a decision more than a fait accompli. Working-class and minority men had fewer tools for draft avoidance.

scholarly journals Qatar's Modern Diplomacy and Al-Jazeera’s Role in Middle East’s Evolutions over the Recent Decades

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Ansar Amini ◽  
Mehdi Akbarsefat
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Persian Gulf ◽  
International System ◽  
Al Jazeera ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
The Past ◽  
Political Bargaining ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
The Persian Gulf

Development of information technology and internet today has given the concept of diplomacy a meaning broader than the past. Modern diplomacy is a mixture which has gained a specific position among academic topics. It is worth noting that the modern diplomacy was resulted from the world's changes after the World War II, where governments could no longer be the only players in the international system. The concept of modern diplomacy makes sense in relatively different ways; general diplomacy, real-time diplomacy,Nich diplomacy, etc. But our main focus in the paper is placed on the Jazeera's role in Middle East's evolutions over the recent decades. As a grand manifestation of modern diplomacy in the Middle East during the past decades, Al Jazeera is sometimes considered to be Qatar's foreign policy benchmarks (index), as it has had an effective role in events related to the country's diplomacy from the time it was established. We assume Qatar's political bargaining power in the international system, especially in the Persian Gulf region, as having enhanced over the recent years. In the present paper, therefore, the authors are about to address questions as to how Qatar's modern diplomacy has made it an active country in the Persian Gulf and in the Middle East region as well, and to what extent Al Jazeera's role is deemed to be serious in the recent changes happened in the Middle east. The present research's assumption emphasizes the role of establishment of Al Jazeera Media Channel as a diplomacy-enabling tool after changes were made in Qatar's government structure, a role which obviously affects the Middle East's recent evolutions (Movements and revolutions in Arabian Countries). Analytic-descriptive approach has been used in the present paper.

“The War Power Is Not a Blank Check”: The Supreme Court and Conscientious Objection, 1917–1973

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-325
Author(s):  
Megan Threlkeld
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Conscientious Objection ◽  
Conscientious Objector ◽  
Compulsory Military Service ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Changing Attitudes ◽  
War Power

Abstract:This article examines the Supreme Court’s role in the development of federal conscientious objector policy in the twentieth century. Focusing on two key periods—the three years following the end of World War II, and the era of the Vietnam War—I argue that the policy’s evolution was more complex than previous studies have indicated, and that the Court’s changing attitudes toward conscientious objection can be traced to the justices’ increasing but irresolute concern for civil liberties. By the early 1970s, the Court was interpreting federal statutes much more broadly than Congress ever intended, but the justices remained divided over just how broad those interpretations should be. While the end of the draft rendered the question of compulsory military service moot, the Court’s failure to arrive at a clear position on conscientious objection has had lasting implications on other issues.

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