Suchergebnisse

There is little available research on what constitutes a culturally informed program to treat mental health conditions among military, veteran, and emergency services personnel. The current study presents the qualitative participant evaluations of a modified group Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) program. Participants were grouped with either lived-experience facilitators or non-lived-experience clinicians for the program, and 93 textual responses to a series of qualitative questions were analyzed. The findings suggest strong support for the postulated three primary components of a culturally informed program: a group structure; facilitation by peers with lived experience; and functional, skills-based, and recovery-oriented content.

AbstractThis article presents findings from an Australian study of veteran homelessness (Hilferty, Katz et al. 2019). The AHURI Inquiry into Homelessness Amongst Australian Veterans was funded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) to estimate the number of homeless veterans and to examine veterans' pathways into homelessness, service usage patterns and ways that service responses may be improved. This article presents the prevalence findings and describes the method employed by the research team. Drawing on primary data and extrapolating results to a larger sample of veterans, the researchers estimate that approximately 5,800 contemporary veterans experience homelessness over a 12‐month period in Australia. This estimate – the first ever to be based on primary data – indicates that veteran homelessness is a much larger problem than previously estimated and deserves priority attention from policymakers and sectoral representatives.

LAY SUMMARYGaining employment is one of the many challenges Veterans face when transitioning out of the military. Females and males have different experiences while serving, as well as when transitioning to civilian life, that can affect employment after transition. This study explores the factors affecting employment for females and males, finding that some factors differ by sex. Children, housing, age, amount of time since transition, military service type, and education were all shown to affect employment differently for females and males. Similarities between females and males were found for factors such as mental health, trauma, reasons for leaving, and transitioning to the reserves. Results show that different factors affect employment for females and males. Further research is needed to develop more awareness of the female transition experience to ensure services support the unique needs of female Veterans.

Depression, alcohol use disorders and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are serious issues among military personnel due to their impact on operational capability and individual well‐being. Several military forces screen for these disorders using scales including the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL). However, it is unknown whether established cutoffs apply to military populations. This study is the first to test the diagnostic accuracy of these three scales in a population‐based military cohort. A large sample of currently‐serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) Navy, Army and Air Force personnel (n = 24,481) completed the K10, AUDIT and PCL‐C (civilian version). Then, a stratified sub‐sample (n = 1798) completed a structured diagnostic interview detecting 30‐day disorder. Data were weighted to represent the ADF population (n = 50,049). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses suggested all three scales had acceptable sensitivity and specificity, with areas under the curve from 0.75 to 0.93. AUDIT and K10 screening cutoffs closely paralleled established cutoffs, whereas the PCL‐C screening cutoff resembled that recommended for US military personnel. These self‐report scales represent a cost‐effective and clinically‐useful means of screening personnel for disorder. Military populations may need lower cutoffs than civilians to screen for PTSD. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

LAY SUMMARY Families offer vital mental health and well-being support to Veterans and public safety personnel. This study offers a model of how families can experience moral distress from service cultures that exclude them, leaving families stuck, exacerbating a sense of moral distress resulting from perceived organizational betrayal felt in the context of families' help-seeking experiences. The model was informed by in-depth interviews conducted in Australia with 25 family members with experience seeking help and providing support to a family member who is a Veteran or public safety personnel. The interviews provided a detailed description of how embedded and aligned families were to a member's service role, and their profound sense of betrayal and distress when attempts to support family members' mental health were thwarted. Families may experience moral distress from identifying the problem and potential support solutions, but having nowhere to go to realize those supports for their family member. The implications for Veteran and public safety organizations as well as health professionals to promote more meaningful involvement of families is discussed.