Publication year
2016
Citation Title
The experience of women veterans coming back from war
Journal Name
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
Journal Volume
30
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
393-399
DOI
10.1016/j.apnu.2016.01.008
Summary
Female Veterans who were deployed often face unique challenges compared to their male counterparts. Eight female Veterans were interviewed in the study, and they told stories about their experiences coming back from war. Results revealed that participants experienced mental health issues, and they benefited from telling stories because of the relief that occurred when they recounted their experiences.
Key Findings
Six themes were extracted from the participants’ stories: “arriving with mixed sentiments”; “evolving to a changed view of self”; “permeating aggravation”; “confounding broken relationships, frequent deployments, and change in military status”; “remembering war experiences”; and “seeking opportunity for what is possible”.
The participants mentioned struggling with familial and interpersonal relationships.
All of the women reported some of the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and indicated that social support was a protective factor against PTSD.
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer support groups for female Service members that promote story sharing and social interaction
Provide information to female Service members about potential challenges they may encounter, and military and civilian resources they may use
Educate military families about the importance of social support from other families, friends, and community
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend professionals who work with Service members participate in trainings on the special challenges faced by female Service members
Raise awareness of the importance of communication and mutual support for the well-being of military families
Continue to support programs for Service members and their spouses about positive coping strategies to manage conflicts
Methods
Participants were recruited from a university community by flyers and emails.
Participants were interviewed individually, and shared stories about their experience coming back from war.
Each story was transcribed and analyzed for main themes of the participant’s experience.
Participants
The sample included eight female Veterans or Reserves who served in combat support roles in Iraq and/or Afghanistan 24-48 months ago.
The participants’ ages were between 24 and 55 years (M = 37 years).
All of the participants were White; most of them served in Air Force (N = 6), followed by Marine (N = 1) and Army (N = 1).
Limitations
The sample size was small, therefore results are hard to generalize to the larger population of female Service members.
Participants had returned from war for over one year when they were interviewed, so results of the study may not reflect their experience immediately after coming back.
Participants’ self-reported health problems were not confirmed by medical record review.
Avenues for Future Research
Recruit a larger number of participants to increase the generalizability of the results
Conduct studies with Veterans who are at different stages of reintegration so that their feelings at different stages could be examined
Design a longitudinal study to investigate the potential change of Veterans’ feelings over time, and examine factors that may contribute to their well-being
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Issues surrounding mental health are common for women veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The goal of this phenomenological study was to document themes in the stories gathered from eight women veterans who had come back from war. Themes in the stories were: arriving with mixed sentiments; evolving to a changed view of self; permeating aggravation; confounding broken relationships, frequent deployments, and change in military status; remembering war experiences; and seeking opportunity for what is possible. Mental health issues can be observed in the themes. Including story as part of the mental health visit with veterans may be beneficial to veterans as they deal with the transition of coming back.
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