A Synthesis of Factors Affecting Post-Military Reintegration in Relation to Help-Seeking and Social Support

Paper one is a literature review of 12 empirical studies which synthesises the current knowledge on help-seeking in female veterans for mental health difficulties. All studies identified were peer reviewed and of sufficient methodological quality. Nine papers were cross-sectional, two were longitudinal and one was qualitative. Results indicated that hypermasculinity of the military culture, military sexual trauma and relationship difficulties were all factors that primarily impacted female veterans help-seeking attitudes and behaviours. Stigma was universal to both male and female veterans in affecting help-seeking for mental health difficulties. Future research is advised to explore differences between a US and UK sample. Clinical implications include veteran specific training in general mental health practices and challenging masculine norms in veteran services.

Paper two is an empirical study exploring factors that predict perceived social support and attitudes towards help-seeking in a sample of 50 UK veterans, who had been deployed to active war scenarios. Cross-sectional internet mediated, regression design was utilised. Predictors included expressive suppression, trauma symptoms, time in service and time since discharge. Time since discharge was found to predict perceived social support with increased time leading to lower perceived support. Expressive suppression was found to predict attitudes towards help-seeking for mental health with greater suppression leading to poorer attitudes. Findings are discussed in the context of comparable research along with the limitations, clinical implications, and possible avenues for future research.

Paper three is an executive summary, written as an accessible summary of the empirical paper. It is intended for dissemination of the background, method, findings, and implications to a veteran population. It has been contributed to and validated by veterans.