Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Student and Nonstudent National Guard Service Members/Veterans and Their Use of Services for Mental Health Symptoms.

Bonar EE, Bohnert KM, Walters HM, Ganoczy D, Valenstein M. Student and Nonstudent National Guard Service Members/Veterans and Their Use of Services for Mental Health Symptoms. Journal of American College Health : J of Ach. 2015 Jan 1; 63(7):437-46.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To compare mental health symptoms and service utilization among returning student and nonstudent service members/veterans (SM/Vs). PARTICIPANTS: SM/Vs (N = 1,439) were predominately white (83%) men (92%), half were over age 30 (48%), and 24% were students. METHODS: SM/Vs completed surveys 6 months post deployment (October 2011-July 2013). RESULTS: Students and nonstudent SM/Vs did not differ in positive screens for depression, anxiety, hazardous drinking, or posttraumatic stress disorder. Students (n = 81) and nonstudents (n = 265) with mental health symptoms had low levels of mental health service use (eg, Department of Veterans Affairs [VA], civilian, or military facilities), at 47% and 57%. respectively. Fewer students used VA mental health services. Common barriers to treatment seeking included not wanting treatment on military records and embarrassment. CONCLUSIONS: Like other returning SM/Vs, student SM/Vs have unmet mental health needs. The discrepancy between potential need and treatment seeking suggests that colleges might be helpful in further facilitating mental health service use for student SM/Vs.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.