Stereotyping of student service members and Veterans on a university campus in the U.S

Thomas C Motl; Kylie A George; Brandon J Gibson; Maria A Mollenhauer; Lindsay Birke

doi:10.1080/08995605.2021.2025012

Stereotyping of student service members and Veterans on a university campus in the U.S

Mil Psychol. 2022 Mar 1;34(5):604-615. doi: 10.1080/08995605.2021.2025012. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Thomas C Motl¹, Kylie A George², Brandon J Gibson², Maria A Mollenhauer², Lindsay Birke²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology and Sociology, College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minnesota.
² Education, Health, and Behavior Studies, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Abstract

Studies about the experience of Student Service Members and Veterans (SSM/Vs) at U.S. institutions of higher education have consistently found that SSM/Vs believe that their military status results in stereotyping by peers. This is the first study to use quantitative methods to examine 1) the stereotypes SSM/Vs believe exist about them, and 2) the stereotypes actually displayed by non-SSM/V peers. A survey was administered to 177 students (87 SSM/Vs and 90 non-SSM/Vs) at a large, four-year university in the Midwest United States. Explicit questions and an experimental manipulation were used to address the research questions. Findings suggest that SSM/Vs believe more negative stereotypes exist than do non-SSM/Vs. Further, of 48 attributes used as options, the current methodology uncovered evidence of 6 specific stereotypes that non-SSM/Vs hold about SSM/Vs: disciplined, leader, masculine, mentally ill, stuck in the past, and tense. These results can guide future research about SSM/V transition to higher education, and address specific barriers to the well-being of this population.

Keywords: Student Veterans; college climate; stereotypes; stigma; student service members.