Military and Veteran help-seeking behaviors: Role of mental health stigma and leadership.

Mental health stigma has been identified as a barrier to help-seeking in the United States. This may be particularly salient for military personnel who tend to report higher mental health stigma than the general population. Evidence suggests that both supportive and destructive military leadership are related to service members' attitudes toward seeking help. In the current study, a sample of military service members and Veterans (N = 232) completed an online survey regarding mental health stigma, previous experiences with military leaders, and mental health help-seeking behaviors. Findings indicated that destructive and supportive leadership experiences were significantly related to self stigma, public stigma, and help-seeking. Military members and Veterans who experienced destructive leadership were more likely to report internalized mental health stigma, which decreased the likelihood of seeking help. Supportive leadership, on the other hand, was associated with greater likelihood of seeking help for mental health concerns, and was indirectly related to help-seeking through lower self-stigma. Findings suggest that the military leadership style plays a significant role in service members' and Veterans' willingness to seek assistance for mental health concerns.

Attachment, coping, and psychological symptoms among military veterans and active duty personnel.

Background and Objectives: Military service is a stressful occupation, including increased risk for psychological distress. In order to provide the best care for service members and veterans (SMVs), it is important to understand personality and behavioral patterns associated with negative outcomes. This study examined links between attachment processes, coping styles, problematic alcohol use and psychological distress.Design: Using a cross-sectional, correlational design, a multi-instrument survey was administered to participants either online or in-person.Methods: Veterans and active duty service members (N = 268) completed measures of adult attachment, coping styles, alcohol use, and psychological symptoms.Results: Attachment avoidance was positively associated with avoidant coping, alcohol use, depression, and PTSD symptoms, but negatively related to problem-focused coping. Attachment anxiety was associated with avoidant coping, depression, GAD, and PTSD symptoms. Avoidant coping, but not problem-focused coping, was associated with psychological symptoms, and significant indirect relationships were noted between insecure attachment processes, avoidant coping, and psychological symptoms.Conclusion: Findings highlight personality and behavioral factors that may be important treatment foci when working with SMVs. Future studies should evaluate this model using longitudinal designs.

Role of Combat Exposure and Insomnia in Student Veterans' Adaptation to College.

Objective/Background: Since 2002, the number of college student veterans has nearly doubled, although 30-40% of veterans fail to complete their degree. Few research efforts to understand the challenges veterans face transitioning to college in recent years have looked beyond the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder. Insomnia is the most frequently reported symptom of combat veterans and can have serious implications for college students. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of insomnia in student veteran adaptation to college relative to civilian students. Participants: College students (N = 588), including 154 veterans, participated in a large online study examining the psychological, relational, and academic functioning of college students. Approximately 61% of the veteran subsample reported combat exposure. Methods: Students were administered a Background Information Questionnaire, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory, and the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire. Data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance and regression to test for direct and indirect effects. Results and Conclusions: Student veterans reported better academic and personal-emotional adaptation than civilian students, while civilians reported better social adjustment than veterans. However, follow-up analyses revealed that these effects might be explained by group differences in gender, income, and marital status. Although combat veterans without insomnia had better academic adjustment than noncombat veterans and civilian students, insomnia seemed to have a greater negative effect on combat veterans' academic adjustment relative to civilian students. Furthermore, insomnia mediated the relationship between combat exposure and veterans' personal-emotional adjustment to college.