Suchergebnisse

LAY SUMMARYIn Canada, mentoring has been used in the armed forces to support women's careers and personal development, but there is little evidence that the unique experiences of being a woman in the military have been considered in mentoring efforts. The current study aims to find reasons why servicewomen are using mentorship in the Canadian Armed Forces and to identify the gender and cultural factors that may play a role in those mentoring experiences. This article presents some of the findings from 28 interviews that explored the experiences of mentorship for women in the military. For women, career development advice includes learning how to manage personal responsibilities along with career objectives. Women are also looking for support to address issues related to gender and military culture, kinship and visibility, and surviving sexual trauma in the workplace. The current study provides a foundation for ongoing research and forms a basis on which future mentorship work can be built.

LAY SUMMARY The Veterans Affairs Canada Well-being Framework describes seven areas of well-being that contribute to a military member's successful return to the civilian world. This perspective argues that, although there is a plethora of programs, services, and resources available to support military-to-civilian transition, they are currently inadequate to address the unique needs and experiences of servicewomen and women Veterans. In addition, of those programs, services, and resources that are aimed at supporting specifically women, there is little information indicating they consider women's unique needs and experiences. Future research is required to encourage critical review of existing programs, resources, and services, or to create those based on evidence-based research.

LAY SUMMARYMentorship is used in a variety of professions, including in the military to support careers and personal development. Mentorship is known to have benefits for mentors, mentees, and organizations, and it is being used more often to support minority populations, such as women in certain male-dominated professions. However, little is known about how gender and cultures within the military affect mentoring and mentorship programs. A review of the literature was completed to answer the question "How does the literature conceptualize and describe mentorship and mentoring programs in military, military adjacent, and policing organizations for women?" A total of 23 articles were included, the majority of which were from the United States. These articles discussed defining mentorship, how mentorship is used, the role of identity, and the impact of culture on mentorship. This review highlights gaps in the current body of research, calling on the need for further exploration.

LAY SUMMARY This article uses the current body of research to explore the need for military family research that deliberately includes LGBTQIA2S+ military families. Much of the existing research intentionally or unintentionally excludes these families, and this exclusion could result in the creation of programs, support services, and policies that do not consider or meet their unique needs. To ensure these diverse voices are heard, more intentional inclusion of LGBTQIA2S+ families in Canadian military research is needed to support their service to the country.

LAY SUMMARY On leaving the military, Canadian Armed Forces Veterans begin receiving health care services in the civilian community. Health care providers may not understand the military culture from which Veterans come and how military service can affect health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to identify what civilian health care providers need to know and do to provide culturally competent care to Canadian Veterans. Veterans and health care providers (family physicians and an occupational therapist) were interviewed, and specific knowledge, skills, and abilities were identified as important when establishing a quality health care relationship. This information can be used to develop resources for health care providers when beginning work with Veterans and their families, as well as for Veterans themselves as they transition to receiving care in civilian systems.

LAY SUMMARY Young people in public safety personnel (PSP)-connected families are affected by the distinctive stress related to having a parent with mental health issues, including operational stress injuries (OSIs) and the existing strain connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. This increased vulnerability makes it important to be innovative in opportunities for prevention in the PSP community. After reviewing available resources aimed at helping young people affected by a parental OSI, the authors uncovered a gap in prevention and intervention programs accessible to all Canadian PSP families. A new virtual six-week program offered to Canadian young people in military and PSP families affected by an OSI creates potential for developing resilience. The online platform opens access to young people who may be isolated from joining a traditional face-to-face mental health support program with peers. The virtual program aims to empower young people in their knowledge of mental health and enable them to learn about the complex nature of parental OSIs, such as posttraumatic stress disorder. More research on this program is needed to ensure interventions created for this target population are effective in the Canadian context and meet the unique needs of PSP-connected young people.

LAY SUMMARY This article highlights how the current literature conceptualizes and describes the link between military sexual trauma and moral injury. It describes some potential effects of sexual-assault-related moral injury on survivors and contributes to the broader, growing understanding of how sexual assault affects survivors, researchers, clinicians, and policy makers involved in the health and well-being of military members. Furthermore, this work can inform the development of future clinical interventions for individuals with more unique circumstances, such as those who may have experienced moral injury related to sexual trauma in the military.

AbstractOver the years, the construct of resilience has been increasing in complexity, indicated by the lack of consensus in its definition, operationalization, and measurement. Resiliency in military families is of particular interest given the nature of military life. A narrative review explored and synthesized how resilience and resiliency are understood in the military family literature. Twenty references were identified and underwent a detailed data extraction process focused on descriptions of resilience. Five themes were identified: the difference between resilience and resiliency, intrafamilial factors, processes that enhance military family resiliency, the role of context, and family–context interactions. These themes have informed the development of a synthesis of models of family resiliency that can reveal areas of vital significance for military families and serve as an important starting point to inform ongoing research and theory development for this population.

LAY SUMMARYThe authors conducted a review of existing research on sex, gender, and intersectionality in relation to military-to-civilian transition (MCT). Extensive international studies and government resources, mostly from the United States, provide insight into the potential vulnerabilities and challenges encountered by historically under-represented military members and Veterans during MCT (i.e., by women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other sexual or gender minority, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour military service members and Veterans). The reviewed sources also highlight government initiatives and tailored programs that exist internationally to address diverse Veteran needs. Canadian research and government initiatives on the topic are limited, and this gap needs to be kept in mind. To support equitable transition outcomes for all Veterans, research as well as policies, programs, and supports need to pay attention to sex and gender as well as intersecting factors such as sexuality, race, Indigeneity, and more.

Introduction: This secondary analysis compared three groups of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members in their demographics and attitudes toward mental health care: those with a need who have sought help (help-seekers), those with a need who have not sought help (non-help seekers) and those with no current need (no-need). Methods: Data from the 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey, which included responses from 6,996 Regular Force and 1,469 Reserve Force members, was used. Several variables were applied to classify members according to mental health need and help-seeking status. Results: The three groups had distinct demographic profiles. In addition, results from a discriminant function analysis indicated group differences in attitudes toward mental health care. Help-seekers reported more negative attitudes toward acquiring mental health care for reasons that relate to stigma and career implications, while non-help seekers reported more negative attitudes toward mental health care that reflect a distrust of professionals and preference for self-management. Discussion: These findings suggest more can be done to further support help-seekers who report stigma and to support non-help seekers who may have attitudinal barriers to traditional care but may benefit from innovative care solutions.

LAY SUMMARY The goal of this study was to understand whether spousal attachment is related to the quality of post-deployment interactions and issues of conflict reported by spouses of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members during a post-deployment reunion. A total of 104 spouses of CAF Regular Force personnel who had recently been reunited with their partners after a deployment were surveyed. Results showed that both attachment anxiety (fear of rejection and abandonment) and attachment avoidance (discomfort with emotional intimacy and closeness) were related to lower-quality post-deployment interactions and the reported frequency of particular conflict issues. Specifically, attachment anxiety was related to more reports of unmet emotional needs, difficulties re-establishing intimacy, finances, and being less likely to describe the conflict in positive terms. The relationship between attachment anxiety and the quality of post-deployment interactions was explained by feeling as though one's original expectations of the reunion were not met.