Dimensions of Majority and Minority Groups

Several definitions of majority and minority groups can be found in the social psychological literature. They involve numeric size, power/status, and counternormative position, but size is most commonly used in experimental research to manipulate minority/minority status. Does this practice mirror real-world conceptualizations? To address this question, 77 participants were asked to describe majority and minority groups using a structured openended measure. Content analysis of their responses revealed that majority and minority groups were conceptualized along eight dimensions, which included power, number, distinctiveness, social category, group context, dispositions, and being the source or target of behavior. Although these dimensions were relevant to both majorities and minorities, they often were applied differentially. Also, minorities were associated with more divergent thinking and viewed more negatively than were majorities. On the basis of these findings, a new typology of groups was proposed that could be used in future experimental research to advance our understanding of majorities and minorities

Beyond PTSD : a multi-case study exploring identity, moral injury, and spiritual injury

This multi-case study explored Swedish military veterans’ experiences related to posttraumatic stress disorder, moral injury, and spiritual injury. Specifically, the present study focused on 4 domains (health care, veteran’s administration, moral conflicts and injuries, and identities and existential dimensions) that emerged in participants’ meaning making as they navigated everyday life. While these domains are distinct from each other, results show health care experiences are typically embedded within veteran’s administration, while at times, moral injury and/or spiritual injury appear to be linked to identities and existential dimensions. Questions of identity (e.g., who am I?), morality (e.g., how do I become good?), and spirituality (e.g., does a higher being cause people to suffer?) are not pathological by nature, but can be viewed as fundamental to an individual’s raison d’etre

Responding to the Needs of Military Students and Military-connected Schools: Perceptions and Actions of School Administrators

Military children experience a variety of military-specific stressors. Stressors include repeated geographic relocation and parental separation, both of which can negatively affect social, emotional, psychological, and academic outcomes. Educational reform research, however, has found that caring and responsive schools can moderate the effects of psychological stress on the social and emotional outcomes of students. Lacking are studies that examine the transformative role of principals and other school administrators in providing school supports for military children. Hence, this study is guided by multiple objectives. This study examined the military-connected (MC) school administrators\u27 philosophy as it relates to military students, programmatic efforts for military students, and assessment of military social work interns. Data were collected using an online survey tool, and results suggest consensus among most MC school administrators regarding the unique needs of military students and the need for programs and resources that address these needs. This study found that many administrators struggle to provide adequate supports for military students

Well-Being and Suicidal Ideation of Secondary School Students From Military Families

Background The mental health of children is a primary public health concern; adolescents of military personnel may be at increased risk of experiencing poorer well-being overall and depressive symptoms specifically. These adolescents experience individual and intrafamilial stressors of parental deployment and reintegration, which are directly and indirectly associated with internalizing behaviors. Purpose The present study sought to better understand the influence of parental military connectedness and parental deployment on adolescent mental health. Methods Data from the 2011 California Healthy Kids Survey examined feeling sad or hopeless, suicidal ideation, well-being, and depressive symptoms by military connectedness in a subsample (n = 14,299) of seventh-, ninth-, and 11th-grade California adolescents. Cross-classification tables and multiple logistic regression analyses were used. Results More than 13% of the sample had a parent or sibling in the military. Those with military connections were more likely to report depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Controlling for grade, gender, and race/ethnicity, reporting any familial deployment compared with no deployments was associated with increasing odds of experiencing sadness or hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Conclusions Findings emphasize the increased risk of mental health issues among youth with parents (and siblings) in the military. Although deployment-related mental health stressors are less likely during peace, during times of war there is a need for increased screening in primary care and school settings. Systematic referral systems and collaboration with community-based mental health centers will bolster screening and services

Understanding moral injury from a character domain perspective.

Within the past decade, the emerging field of moral injury has focused mostly on the clinical dimension of a traumatic event (Griffin et al., Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2019, 32, p. 350). This article will present a character dimension of moral injury and briefly introduce a dual pathway model of moral injury reflecting clinical and character dimensions. The investigation of the character domain borrows from the theoretical and empirical bases of moral philosophy, moral psychology, character psychology, and social psychology. Hence, this multidisciplinary understanding of moral injury encompasses: (a) moral failure, or the failure to adhere to a virtue as prescribed by a group or institution, (b) suffering or death as a direct result of moral failure, (c) unethical marking on a person's character, and (d) experience of identity negotiation between the real self and the undesired self. This character framework attempts to advance a broader theoretical foundation for moral injury that has wider applicability to the varieties of human experience, and reflects a deeper understanding of the self-concept that is not defined by and does not necessarily reflect clinical impairments.Stress-related psychiatric disorders across the life spa

Symptom severity, self-efficacy and treatment-seeking for mental health among US Iraq/Afghanistan military veterans

Military veterans have high rates of mental health problems, yet the majority do not seek treatment. Understanding treatment-seeking in this population is important. This study investigated if symptom severity and self-efficacy are associated with treatment-seeking among US Iraq/Afghanistan veterans. Survey data from 525 veterans meeting clinical criteria for PTSD and depression were included of which, 54.4% had sought treatment in the past 12 months. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that high symptom severity was associated with treatment seeking, whereas high self-efficacy was associated with a decreased likelihood to seek treatment. Self-efficacy could be an underlying mechanism of treatment seeking decisions