Strengths and vulnerabilities: Comparing post-9/11 U.S. veterans' and non-veterans' perceptions of health and broader well-being

Dawne Vogt; Shelby Borowski; Shira Maguen; John R Blosnich; Claire A Hoffmire; Paul A Bernhard; Katherine M Iverson; Aaron Schneiderman

doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101201

Strengths and vulnerabilities: Comparing post-9/11 U.S. veterans' and non-veterans' perceptions of health and broader well-being

SSM Popul Health. 2022 Aug 11:19:101201. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101201. eCollection 2022 Sep.

Authors

Dawne Vogt^{1

2}, Shelby Borowski^{1

2}, Shira Maguen^{3

4}, John R Blosnich^{5

6}, Claire A Hoffmire^{7

8}, Paul A Bernhard⁹, Katherine M Iverson^{1

2}, Aaron Schneiderman⁹

Affiliations

¹ Women's Health Sciences Division, National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁴ San Francisco VA Health Care System, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁵ Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁶ Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁷ Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Aurora, CO, USA.
⁸ University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Aurora, CO, USA.
⁹ Epidemiology Program, Health Outcomes of Military Exposures, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, USA.

Abstract

Background: Prior research has examined how the post-military health and well-being of both the larger veteran population and earlier veteran cohorts differs from non-veterans. However, no study has yet to provide a holistic examination of how the health, vocational, financial, and social well-being of the newest generation of post-9/11 U.S. military veterans compares with their non-veteran peers. This is a significant oversight, as accurate knowledge of the strengths and vulnerabilities of post-9/11 veterans is required to ensure that the needs of this population are adequately addressed, as well as to counter inaccurate veteran stereotypes.

Methods: Post-9/11 U.S. veterans' (N = 15,160) and non-veterans' (N = 4,533) reported on their health and broader well-being as part of a confidential web-based survey in 2018. Participants were drawn from probability-based sampling frames, and sex-stratified weighted logistic regressions were conducted to examine differences in veterans' and non-veterans' reports of health, vocational, financial, and social outcomes.

Results: Although both men and women post-9/11 veterans endorsed poorer health status than non-veterans, they reported greater engagement in a number of positive health behaviors (healthy eating and exercise) and were more likely to indicate having access to health care. Veterans also endorsed greater social well-being than non-veterans on several outcomes, whereas few differences were observed in vocational and financial well-being.

Conclusion: Despite their greater vulnerability to experiencing health conditions, the newest generation of post-9/11 U.S. veterans report experiencing similar or better outcomes than non-veterans in many aspects of their lives. Findings underscore the value of examining a wider range of health and well-being outcomes in veteran research and highlight a number of important directions for intervention, public health education, policy, and research related to the reintegration of military veterans within broader civilian society.

Keywords: Employment; Finances; Health and health behavior; Military service; Post-9/11 veterans; Social relationships; Survey; Well-being.