The Effects of Academic/Career Efficacy, Psychological Resilience, and Social Support on College Adaptation of Returning Students after Military Service

Objectives: We examine the impact of exposure to the dead, dying, and wounded (DDW) during military service on the later-life depressive symptom trajectories of male United States veterans, using psychological resilience as an internal resource that potentially moderates negative consequences. Methods: The Health and Retirement Study (2006–2014) and linked Veteran Mail Survey were used to estimate latent growth curve models of depressive symptom trajectories, beginning at respondents’ first report of resilience. Results: Veterans with higher levels of resilience do not have increased depressive symptoms in later life, despite previous exposure to DDW. Those with lower levels of resilience and previous exposure to DDW experience poorer mental health in later life. Discussion: Psychological resilience is important for later-life mental health, particularly for veterans who endured potentially traumatic experiences. We discuss the importance acknowledging the role individual resources play in shaping adaptation to adverse life events and implications for mental health service needs.

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Effects of military service and deployment on clinical symptomatology: The role of trauma exposure and social support

Journal of Psychiatric Research ◽

10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.08.013 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 95 ◽

pp. 121-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Tyler M. Moore ◽

Victoria B. Risbrough ◽

Dewleen G. Baker ◽

Gerald E. Larson ◽

Daniel E. Glenn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Military Service ◽

Trauma Exposure ◽

Clinical Symptomatology

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The Influence of Social Support on Dyadic Functioning and Mental Health Among Military Personnel During Postdeployment Reintegration

Public Health Reports ◽

10.1177/0033354916679984 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 132 (1) ◽

pp. 85-92 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Julie A. Cederbaum ◽

Sherrie L. Wilcox ◽

Kathrine Sullivan ◽

Carrie Lucas ◽

Ashley Schuyler

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Military Personnel ◽

Military Service ◽

Well Being ◽

Service Members ◽

Traumatic Experiences ◽

Military Leaders ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Symptoms Of Depression

Objectives: Although many service members successfully cope with exposure to stress and traumatic experiences, others have symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety; contextual factors may account for the variability in outcomes from these experiences. This work sought to understand mechanisms through which social support influences the mental health of service members and whether dyadic functioning mediates this relationship. Methods: We collected cross-sectional data as part of a larger study conducted in 2013; 321 military personnel who had at least 1 deployment were included in these analyses. Surveys were completed online; we collected data on demographic characteristics, social support, mental health measures (depression, PTSD, and anxiety), and dyadic functioning. We performed process modeling through mediation analysis. Results: The direct effects of social support on the mental health of military personnel were limited; however, across all types of support networks, greater social support was significantly associated with better dyadic functioning. Dyadic functioning mediated the relationships between social support and depression/PTSD only when social support came from nonmilitary friends or family; dyadic functioning mediated social support and anxiety only when support came from family. We found no indirect effects of support from military peers or military leaders. Conclusion: Findings here highlight the need to continue to explore ways in which social support, particularly from family and nonmilitary-connected peers, can bolster healthy intimate partner relationships and, in turn, improve the well-being of military service members who are deployed.

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Pre-disaster social support is protective for onset of post-disaster depression: Prospective study from the Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-55953-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yuri Sasaki ◽

Jun Aida ◽

Taishi Tsuji ◽

Shihoko Koyama ◽

Toru Tsuboya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Disaster Preparedness ◽

Evaluation Study ◽

Great East Japan Earthquake ◽

Baseline Survey ◽

Psychological Resilience ◽

Support Functions ◽

Received Social Support ◽

Post Disaster

AbstractWe examined whether pre-disaster social support functions as a disaster preparedness resource to mitigate post-disaster depressive symptoms among older survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. The participants were 3,567 individuals aged ≥65 years living in Iwanuma city who completed a baseline survey as part of the nationwide Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study seven months before the disaster. A follow-up survey was administered approximately 2.5 years after the disaster. The analysis included a total of 2,293 participants, and social support (giving and receiving emotional & instrumental help) before the disaster was measured using four items. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the GDS with a cut-off score of 4/5 (not depressed/depressed). We discovered that participants who gave and received emotional and instrumental support before the disaster were significantly less likely to develop depressive symptoms after the disaster compared to those without support (ARR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.56–0.88). The risk of the onset of depressive symptoms was 1.34 (95% CI: 1.03–1.74) among those who experienced disaster damages but had also given and received social support, and 1.70 (95% CI: 1.03–2.76) among those who experienced damages but lacked support. Strengthening social aid may help cultivate psychological resilience to disasters.

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Does psychological resilience mediate the impact of social support on geriatric depression? An exploratory study among Chinese older adults in Singapore

Asian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.ajp.2015.01.011 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 22-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Jinhui Li ◽

Yin-Leng Theng ◽

Schubert Foo

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Older Adults ◽

Exploratory Study ◽

Psychological Resilience ◽

Geriatric Depression ◽

Chinese Older Adults ◽

The Impact

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Anchorpoints: an introspective

Acta Neuropsychiatrica ◽

10.1017/s0924270800036759 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 38-46

Author(s):

H.M. Van Praag

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Military Service ◽

Academic Career ◽

Medical Mycology ◽

Academic Hospital ◽

Starting Point ◽

Biological Determinants ◽

Neurological Research ◽

The Military ◽

Research Period

This, then, is what it has been all about. Today I mark the end of an academic career that ranged over 45 years. 1952 was the starting point. In that year, as a medical student, I was accepted as a research assistent by Prof. G.G.J. Rademaker, a neurophysiologist and at the time head of the Department of Neurology at the Academic Hospital in Leiden. The neurological research period was followed by a mycological one. Having received my MD degree and doing my military service, I was asked to carry out a study into the prevalence, prevention and treatment of mycological infections in military personel. For this reason I worked for more than 1, 5 years in Baarn at the section Medical Mycology of the Phytopathological Laboratory, an interacademic institution of the Universities of Amsterdam and Utrecht (1956-1958). Immediately after the military service I became a resident in psychiatry and started – together with the biochemist Prof. B. Leijnse – a research program into the biological determinants of depression. The period of psychiatric investigation lasted until this very day, albeit in different locations, i.e. Rotterdam, Groningen, Utrecht, New York and Maastricht respectively.

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