https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-PrestonEtAl2022

Preston, A. M., Saigal, S., Barrie, R., McKinney, H., Mooney, S., & Padala, P. R. (2022). Defeated no more: Meaning-making after military sexual trauma. Military Medicine, usab528. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usab528

Military sexual trauma (MST; i.e., experience of sexual assault or sexual harassment while in the military) has been reported by approximately 1 in 4 women during their active-duty service. Telephone interviews were conducted with 6 women Veterans to understand how they make sense of their experience of MST (i.e., meaning-making). Women Veterans discussed precursors to meaning-making and meaning-making processes. The main meaning-making processes described by survivors included creating work or doing deeds, experiences that supported posttraumatic growth (PTG), and altering attitudes toward suffering.

https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usab528

Trauma
Veterans

Army
Navy
Marine Corps
Air Force
Multiple branches

Veteran

Veteran

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)

Qualitative Study

Preston, A’mie M., Saigal, Seema, Barrie, Rabiatu, McKinney, Hannah, Mooney, Scott, Padala, Prasad R.

Military sexual trauma (MST) has been a concern within our U.S. military for many years. Many interventions have been found to benefit this population, although meaning-based interventions are still lacking in this area. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the meaning-making process and themes that arise for female military veterans as they narrate their experience(s) of MST.The qualitative study consisted of six female participants, from different areas across the nation, who all reported experiencing MST during their time in service. Their experiences of MST included both sexual harassment and sexual assault. Participants completed a semi-structured interview that was analyzed using an axial coding method to discover the major themes of each participant’s interview. The participants discussed the positive and negative aspects of their journey following their MST experience(s). This study’s procedures were approved by Adler University’s Institutional Review Board.Many found the interview to be a healing experience on their path of post-traumatic growth (PTG). There were eight major themes that arose from the data analysis under the three main domains of (1) creating a work or doing a deed, (2) experiencing something or encountering someone in a way to produce PTG, and (3) altering one’s attitude toward unavoidable suffering. The eight themes were as follows: advocacy, adaptive coping, sense of family unit, psychological clarity, meaningful mantra, survivor mentality code, view of self in the world, and resiliency.All participants endorsed engagement in some type of activity that fell into one of the three major domains identified above. This finding helped highlight the PTG that participants were able to experience through their meaning-making journey. There were several recommendations and study implications that were derived from this research study. With the themes introduced from this study, future treatment planning for individual survivors of MST can be better informed by the utilization of meaning-making techniques. Family and group meaning-based interventions would also be an area of continued exploration for this population. Future implications for practice are also included within this article. Significant limitations of the study include amount of participants, lack of diversity in sample population, qualitative study results, and lack of a more-personal interviewing process.

Oxford Academic

Article
REACH Publication

Department of Clinical Psychology, Adler University, AMP
Department of Mental Health, Eugene J. Towbin VA Healthcare Center, AMP
Department of Clinical Psychology, Adler University, SS
Department of Clinical Psychology, Adler University, RB
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, HM
Department of Mental Health, Eugene J. Towbin VA Healthcare Center, SM
Department of Mental Health, Eugene J. Towbin VA Healthcare Center, PRP
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, PRP
Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, PBP