Levin Chynna, Nenninger Sterling, Freundlich Devora, Glatt Sofie, Sokol Yosef
VISN 2 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, New York.
Department of Psychology, Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York.
Mil Psychol. 2024 Sep 2;36(5):491-503. doi: 10.1080/08995605.2023.2215697. Epub 2023 May 30.
Veterans in the transition stage out of the military have an increased risk for negative mental health outcomes and suicide. Previous research has found that finding and retaining employment is the most challenging post-service adjustment for veterans. Job loss may have a greater impact on mental health for veterans than for civilians due to the myriad challenges often faced when transitioning to the civilian workplace, as well as preexisting vulnerabilities that are common among veterans such as trauma exposure or service-related injuries. Previous studies have demonstrated that low Future Self-Continuity (FSC), which refers to the sense of "psychological connectedness" that a person has between their present and future selves, has also been associated with the abovementioned mental health outcomes. 167 U.S. military veterans who exited the military 10 or fewer years prior to their participation in the study, of which 87 experienced subsequent job loss, completed a series of questionnaires to assess future self-continuity (FSC) and mental health outcomes. Results confirmed previous findings in that job loss, as well as low FSC, were individually associated with an increased risk for negative mental health outcomes. Findings suggest that FSC may act as a mediator, where levels of FSC mediate the effects of job loss on negative mental outcomes (depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidality) among veterans during their first 10 years out of the military. These findings may have implications for enhancing current clinical interventions for veterans experiencing job loss and mental health difficulties during the transition period.
处于从军队过渡阶段的退伍军人出现负面心理健康结果和自杀的风险增加。先前的研究发现，找到并保住工作是退伍军人退役后最具挑战性的调整。失业对退伍军人心理健康的影响可能比对平民更大，因为向平民职场过渡时往往面临无数挑战，以及退伍军人中常见的先前存在的脆弱性，如接触创伤或与服役相关的伤害。先前的研究表明，低未来自我连续性（FSC），即一个人在其当前自我和未来自我之间的“心理联系感”，也与上述心理健康结果有关。167名在参与研究前10年或更短时间内退伍的美国军人，其中87人随后经历了失业，他们完成了一系列问卷，以评估未来自我连续性（FSC）和心理健康结果。结果证实了先前的发现，即失业以及低FSC分别与负面心理健康结果风险增加有关。研究结果表明，FSC可能起到中介作用，即FSC水平在退伍军人退役后的头10年中介导失业对负面心理结果（抑郁、焦虑、压力和自杀倾向）的影响。这些发现可能对加强当前针对在过渡期间经历失业和心理健康困难的退伍军人的临床干预有启示意义。
