ERIC Number: ED505889
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Jun-8
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Helping Veterans Transition into Academic Life through the Creation of a University Veteran Support Group: So We Can Better Serve Those Who Served Us
Sargent, Wesley M., Jr.
Online Submission
There has been a significant rise in the number of veterans who are being treated for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the number of veterans who are completing suicide. In the next couple of years, there will be an increase in the number of veterans who will be attending institutions of higher education; therefore, it is essential that colleges and universities take proactive steps to help serve the veteran student population. Research indicates that veteran support groups are an essential component to positive treatment outcomes with veterans who are suffering with mental disabilities, specifically PTSD (Laffaye, Cavella, Drescher, & Rosen, 2008). The purpose of this Action Research Study (ARS) is to implement an effective veterans' support group at a mid-sized university that is located in the western part of Georgia. The researcher's pool and membership of participants are university veterans. The pool of university veteran participants consisted of 128 veterans. First, all members must be veterans. Secondly, all members must be university students. Twenty-six veterans completed the survey, which is just slightly over a 21% return rate. The primary source of data collected was from the literature review. Data and information on veterans is scattered, not easily accessible, and difficult to find. The data collected from the literature review was distilled and synthesized into a data source and literature review for the current study. Supplemental data came from the veterans' support group survey. The survey yielded quantitative data, which was the veterans' responses that were quantified into percentages. Furthermore, the qualitative question from the survey yielded 4 themes that were coded through thematic analysis. Moreover, this ARS revealed that there is an increased need to improve counseling services for the veterans in the academic population of the nation's colleges and universities. Colleges and universities around the nation will soon be serving an expected 2 million veterans who are returning from deployment in Afghanistan and Iraq (American Council on Education, 2008). Increasingly, many of these returning veterans will experience anxiety, depression, PTSD and other various symptoms that are the result of traumatic experiences from combat. Furthermore, the data revealed that veterans are interested in seeking help via academic counseling. Lastly, it would have been beneficial to interview several veterans who are attending college or a university. Surveys do not offer the insight that interviews are capable of providing. One appendix is included: (1) Veteran Support Group Survey. (Contains 2 tables.)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Georgia
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