Suffering in the Shadows: Interviews with Wives of Combat Veterans Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and/or Traumatic Brain Injury

The body of research examining issues confronting combat veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars continues to grow. However, this research focuses primarily upon veterans with very less attention given to the challenges confronting their spouses. Using a semi-structured interview methodology and a feminist perspective, this study examines what it means to be a wife of a combat veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our findings indicate these women—who experience tremendous emotional, financial, and social challenges that arise from being the caregiver for their husbands—feel isolated from and abandoned by both the military community and the civilian community. Furthermore, the social and emotional disconnection of these women experience amplify the stresses they confront in daily life—stresses that are unique to their relationship to being with a combat veteran spouse who has PTSD and/or TBI. We argue future research should build upon this exploratory study to better understand how both the military community and the civilian community impact the subjectivity of these women and their efforts to reintegrate themselves and their families into civilian life.     

Meeting the mental health needs of the aging veteran population

The growth in the veterans population parallels the graying of America, accompanied by an increasing need for health care and mental health services from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. With the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rising in veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the already strained mental health resources in use by veterans with persistent PTSD from previous wars, the VA mental health system is and will continue to be in overload. In addition, recent research has noted an increased incidence of dementia in veterans with PTSD. The VA's long-term care facilities cannot meet their current demands, nevermind provide support for veterans with cognitive deficits who can no longer be cared for at home. It is imperative that immediate measures be taken to strengthen resources for research, manpower, and training to accommodate the future mental health needs of our aging veterans.     

21st Century American Military Families: A Review in the Context of the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq

This article has three interrelated objectives designed to highlight military family studies in the context of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Often referred to collectively as “the war on terror,” Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom represent the most comprehensive wars fought with an all‐volunteer force since the nation's independence. I review the literature on American military families with an emphasis on the challenges facing military families during these operations. First I provide coverage of issues specific to military marriages and then address the research on children of military families. The article ends with an argument for scholars to take a more integrated approach to the study of military families that would help break down the current state of family scholarship and military family scholarship as parallel lines of inquiry.     

The Effect of 21st Century Military Service on Civilian Labor and Educational Outcomes

I estimate the effect of military service during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars on civilian labor and educational outcomes using several empirical methodologies including sibling fixed effects and propensity score matching. Since military occupations and training have changed significantly in the past few decades, these effects may be different than those found in previous studies on veterans of earlier theaters. I find that veteran status increases civilian wages by approximately ten percent for minorities but has little or no effect on whites in this regard. Veterans of all demographic groups are found to be equally employable and equally as satisfied with their civilian occupation as non-veterans. For females and minorities, veteran status substantially increases the likelihood one attempts college. These veterans are found to be more apt to pursue and obtain a two year (associate’s) degree instead of a four year (bachelor’s) degree. Lastly, I find mixed evidence that veteran status increases the likelihood of public sector employment.     

The Trauma Trifecta of Military Sexual Trauma: A Case Study Illustrating the Integration of Mind and Body in Clinical Work with Survivors of MST

Military sexual trauma (MST) has recently received much attention from the media in contemporary society. With the ever-increasing population of United States service members returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, it is vital for any mental health practitioner to be aware of the epidemic that is sexual assault in the military, the unique trauma experiences of the MST survivor, and treatment implications incorporating multiple psychological theories. This article explores three factors, referred to as the trauma trifecta, in which the effects of MST are exacerbated: the loss of professional and personal identity, the regulatory functions of self harm behaviors, and the retraumatization that many service members endure as a result of the distinctive characteristics of the military culture and its service to veterans. A case study with clinical interventions will be utilized to demonstrate this concept of “the trauma trifecta” and the unique challenges in treating the PTSD symptoms that can result from MST in clinical therapy. Drawing from multiple theories in clinical treatment, this paper illustrates the strengths and limitations of cognitive-behavioral techniques, highlights the integration of feminist theory to illustrate the obstacles of power structures, and mind–body interventions, bridging the gap between talk therapy and body therapy. Through this unique integration of multiple therapies, the case study illustrates the veteran’s reengagement with her body and the reformulation of her identity post MST.     

Sleep disturbances and suicide—New battles for veterans of U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: A retrospective review

In this article, we systematically reviewed 116 veterans’ medical records to explore the mitigating factors in sleep disturbance, polytrauma clinical triad (PCT), and suicide. We discovered that a particular nonaction (i.e., no standardized completion of sleep-disturbance screenings) had strong implications for resulting suicides among veterans with reported sleep disturbances, PCT, and suicidal ideations. This study provides strong propositions for the further study of this veteran cohort—Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF), Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and New Dawn (OND)—with regard to the impact of sleep disturbance on PCT and its relationship with suicide symptoms, ideation, and completion. The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes of sleep disturbances on complex relationships among the three primary diagnoses—posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and chronic pain—that establish the PCT cluster. We identified that those diagnosed with sleep disturbances had increased suicidal ideations and rates of completed suicides. We analyzed these factors in veterans returning from the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We hypothesized that (a) clinicians were not completing sleep-disturbance screenings as a standard practice for the OEF/OIF/OND veterans diagnosed with PCT who reported sleep disturbance concerns within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; (b) if no sleep-disturbance screening instruments were used by clinicians, veterans would be at a greater risk of suicide completion.     

“Give us respect,support and understanding”: Women veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan recommend strategies for improving their mental health care

Although women veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced war-related mental health challenges, they underutilize Veterans Affairs (VA) health care relative to men. Quantitative studies have identified barriers that limit women veterans’ use of health care, but there is a dearth of research asking recent women veterans to volunteer their own recommendations for improving their mental health care. The current qualitative study sought to increase representation of the client voice by asking 29 women veterans of the recent wars to recommend strategies for improving VA and community-based mental health services. 16 strategies were identified in three thematic areas, including the therapeutic relationship, clinical care environment, and health care system. Implications of the findings for enhancing access, use, and quality of mental health services for this cohort of women veterans are discussed.     

Compassion Fatigue in the Treatment of Combat-Related Trauma During Wartime

This article utilizes relevant data on the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a composite case of a clinician working with combat survivors, in order to illustrate the potential for compassion fatigue in clinicians treating this cohort. Review of the literature on the effects of compassion fatigue related to combat trauma and the impact of collective shared trauma is presented. This is done in order to emphasize the complexity of the provision of war trauma treatment post 9/11 in the context of the ongoing wars. There is an urgent need for the mental health field to continue to develop interventions and educational programs that will help mitigate the deleterious effects of compassion fatigue in clinicians working with this population.     

WEIGHING THE MILITARY OPTION: THE EFFECTS OF WARTIME CONDITIONS ON INVESTMENTS IN HUMAN CAPITAL

Serving in the military is an important vehicle through which young Americans invest in their human capital. As such, changes in the desirability of military service may affect the attainment of enlistment requirements, such as a high school degree or equivalent. Using American Community Survey data, we find that exposure to home‐state combat fatalities during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars decreased the probability of high school completion, and increased the probability of general equivalency diploma completion. Using military data, we confirm that exposure to home‐state fatalities selectively deterred some individuals from enlisting. The results suggest military service and educational investments are complements. (JEL I20, I26, J24)     

Combat Social Work During the Surge in Iraq

The military has long recognized the short-term psychiatric effects of war upon soldiers, a significant factor for combat operational readiness and strength (NATO, 2008). Currently referred to as combat stress reaction or combat operational stress reaction (COSR), the condition has debilitating, immediate effects as well as long-term consequences for soldiers and military units. For the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, commanders expected psychiatric casualties rates equaling physical ones, stemming from the intensity and duration of these conflicts, nonlinear nature of the battlefields, unit morale, and soldier experiences and preparedness. For these recent wars, the concept of behavioral health, combat stress, and its military importance has dramatically changed, as have the protocols dictating the delivery of preventive and restorative combat behavioral health care. This article outlines the conceptual foundation of modern combat stress control, protocols, and the efforts of one social worker–led combat stress prevention team, forward deployed to a small base in a volatile area of Baghdad during the height of the surge in 2006–2007.     

“Its Own Kind of Torture”: Denial,Acknowledgment, and the Debate About Force Feeding at Guantánamo Bay

Social science research has revealed how U.S. political and media elites, as well as U.S. citizens, downplayed and denied allegations of torture during the country's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This research effectively applies and extends Stanley Cohen's ( 2001 ) typology of the rhetoric of denial. We lack, however, a typology of the rhetoric of acknowledgment. In this article, I synthesize studies of discourse of torture to develop just such a typology. I propose three rhetorical forms of acknowledgment, which parallel Cohen's forms of denial. Literal or factual acknowledgment includes claims to convince audiences that alleged incidents indeed occurred. Interpretive acknowledgment consists of claims to affirm that those allegations constitute serious human rights violations, such as cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or torture. Implicatory acknowledgment includes efforts to delegitimize torture. I then illustrate the use of the rhetoric of acknowledgment through a qualitative content analysis of newspaper coverage of force feeding at the United States' detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This case allows me to extend our understanding of the rhetoric of denial and acknowledgment by revealing ways in which discourse around force feeding deviates from that around the United States' use of “enhanced interrogation” and torture.     

Mothers and deployment: Understanding the experiences and support needs of deploying mothers of children birth to five

ABSTRACT

Military deployments can demand long separations of service members and their families. The strain of separation is particularly acute for mothers of very young children. This study aimed to better understand the deployment and reintegration experiences of service members who are mothers of young children. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with 12 service member mothers who deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan when one or more of their children was younger than age 6. Discussions explored experiences before, during, and after deployment; needs and challenges at each stage; available support resources and gaps in support. Thematic data analysis was conducted, drawing on principles of grounded theory. Disruption and continuity were central themes as participants illuminated the challenges they faced and their profound dedication to sustaining strong family relationships across the deployment cycle. Relinquishing, reassuming, and balancing multiple roles and responsibilities are additional themes that were frequently evoked. Participants noted a lack of formal resources responsive to their needs and circumstances and highlighted a need for services tailored to mothers who are deploying. Military mothers, particularly mothers of young children, face distinct challenges surrounding deployment. Better understanding their experiences and support needs can inform tailored services to meet their needs.     

What Gets Covered? An Examination of Media Coverage of the Environmental Movement in Canada

This article analyzes press releases from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Greenpeace (GP) to assess how their tactics and frames affect the amount of coverage they receive in The Globe and Mail and National Post from 2000 to 2010. While it is clear that some tactics are more likely to garner media coverage, the full range of tactics and frames are not effective for all groups. For example, calling to the public to engage in a social issue leads to increased media coverage for GP but not WWF. And, using research does not affect media coverage for WWF, but decreases coverage for GP. This study demonstrates that the effect of tactical choices on media coverage is contingent on the identity of the group using them.     

Experiences of student veterans with social anxiety and avoidance: A qualitative study

Eight-to-ten percent of returning combat veterans report symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), of which 7–13% also report symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder. Both disorders are characterized by maladaptive patterns of social functioning, which can have significant effects on the lives of returning combat veterans and increase suicidal risk. The objective of the present study was to identify elements of the lived experience of college student veterans experiencing social anxiety and avoidance. Twelve student veterans with post-9/11 active duty service were interviewed about their lived experiences with social anxiety/avoidance within the framework of phenomenological theory. Data was analyzed using multilevel coding and theme analysis. Analysis of interview themes (n = 12) clarified university campus environments that induce social anxiety/avoidance and the impact on personal and professional relationships, learning, and navigation of physical space. Implications of this study include addressing student veterans’ needs through clinical intervention and further representative research on prevalence rates of these risk factors in various university and community college settings.     

The Employment Experience of Refugees in the Netherlands1

This study focuses on the economically disadvantaged position of refugees. We use survey data of refugees from Somalia, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the former Yugoslavia in the Netherlands, to analyze refugees’ odds of employment and their occupational status. In line with human capital and social capital theory, we find that host country specific education, work experience, language proficiency, and contacts with natives are positively related to the chances of employment and occupational status. The study shows that health problems, integration courses, and the time spent in refugee reception centers form important additional explanations of the economic integration of refugees.     

GLOBALIZATION,CULTURE WARS,AND ATTITUDES TOWARD SOCCER IN AMERICA: An Empirical Assessment of How Soccer Explains the World†

This study examines the “culture wars” using the lens of attitudes toward soccer. Despite soccer's increasing popularity in the United States, anti‐soccer rhetoric is fairly common. In his widely read book, How Soccer Explains the World (2004), Foer contends that the “culture wars,” including divisions over soccer, are better explained by reactions to globalization than social class or political ideology. Using data from a survey of Nebraskans, we find that attitudes about cultural globalization are the best predictor of soccer sentiment. Contrary to popular claims about the “culture wars,” most respondents were moderate in their attitudes toward both soccer and globalization.     

From Prowar Soldier to Antiwar Activist: Change and Continuity in the Narratives of Political Conversion among Iraq War Veterans

This study examines conversion narratives of Iraq War military veterans who have become antiwar political activists. I examine how antiwar veterans construct and emplot prewar, wartime, and postwar narrative periods to shape and reclaim their moral identities as patriots fighting for a just cause, and how through a communal antiwar story they work to both challenge and reappropriate the rhetorical framework they associate with justifications for the invasion of Iraq. The study draws on in‐depth interviews with forty members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). In sum, the research describes how veterans engage with dominant narratives, shape new moral identities, and transition from soldiers to political activists.     

Who shall speak of the pain? frame violations and the making of public controversy 1

This paper focuses on the frame violations that were created as sense-makers viewed a Canadian war documentary, The Valour and the Horror. The film series aggressively challenged conventional wisdom, and resulted in a fierce battle played out publicly in a Senate Subcommittee investigation as parliamentarians, veterans, historians, journalists and film-makers clashed over whose version of the truth would prevail. We argue that controversy erupts due to frame violations, and that it unfolds in a predictable manner. The article analyses both the content of the documentary, and describes the unfolding controversy. We found that different types of frame violations resulted in different consequences, but that generally, broad revisions of conventional and deeply held frames resulted in attacks on the person who created the violations, while lesser violations elicited an attempt to tamper with the product.     

Are we all equally at home socializing online? Cyberasociality and evidence for an unequal distribution of disdain for digitally-mediated sociality

Online social media are an increasingly important arena of social interaction. This rapid transition to digitally mediated sociality is far from trivial in both the consequences it engenders and the tensions it generates. In this paper, we find that some people do not take as readily to accepting digitally mediated sociality as others, and that this mode of connectivity appears fulfilling and engaging to some while it appears hollow and vacant to others due to variations in a personality disposition which we dub ‘cyberasociality' which was defined as the inability or unwillingness of some people to relate to others via social media as they do when physically present by Tufekci [2010. Who acquires friends through social media and why? Rich get richer versus seek and ye shall find. Proceedings of the fourth international conference on weblogs and social media, Washington, DC]. Using two purposive samples of college students (n?=?410 and n?=?417 completed surveys), we develop a scale to test cyberasociality as a construct. We show that cyberasociality is neither a mere reflection of offline sociability nor a proxy for other well-studied traits such as extraversion or neuroticism, nor a simple reflection of Internet experience or cohort effects. We find that cyberasociality impacts how people use digital social tools more than whether they use them, and that the cyberasocial are less likely to use platforms for digitally mediated social interaction to broaden their social networks or to forge new social ties online while they are equally likely to use digital channels for utilitarian purposes such as coordinating plans or finding out about class assignments. Such differences in dispositions toward online sociality hint toward new wrinkles, advantages and disadvantages for consequences of variations in Internet use.