Student veterans may experience challenges as they transition from military to student life, including adjusting to the academic environment, coping with mental health concerns, and redefining their identities. Research indicates that veterans may have difficulty finding meaning and purpose outside of the military (Brenner et al., 2008; Doenges, 2011). This study explored variables that may affect meaning and purpose in student veterans' lives, specifically negative career thoughts and depression. One hundred thirty‐two student veterans at U.S. institutions were surveyed. The results revealed that both negative career thoughts and depression were statistically significant predictors (p < .001) of the presence of meaning in life, with 46% of the variance in the presence of meaning in life scores accounted for by participants' negative career thinking and depression levels. Pearson correlations indicated that all variables were statistically significant (p < .01). Future research could explore how other career readiness and self‐assessment constructs are related to meaning and purpose in student veterans' lives, as well as the intersection of mental health and career factors. Interventions that focus both on the presence of negative career thoughts and depressive symptomatology may positively influence student veterans' report of meaning and purpose in life.

中文翻译：

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学生退伍军人：生活中的意义，负面的职业思想和沮丧

在退伍军人从军人过渡到学生生活时，他们可能会遇到挑战，包括适应学术环境，应对心理健康问题以及重新定义自己的身份。研究表明，退伍军人可能难以在军人之外找到意义和目的（Brenner等，2008； Doenges，2011）。这项研究探索了可能影响退伍军人生活意义和目的的变量，特别是消极的职业思想和沮丧。对美国机构中的132名学生退伍军人进行了调查。结果显示，职业生涯的消极想法和抑郁都是统计学上显着的预测因素（p<0.001）表示生活中存在意义，其中生活意义中存在意义的差异中有46％由参与者的否定性职业思维和抑郁水平造成。皮尔森相关性表明，所有变量均具有统计学意义（p <.01）。未来的研究可以探索其他职业准备和自我评估的结构与退伍军人生活中的意义和目标以及心理健康和职业因素之间的关系。同时关注负面职业思想和抑郁症状的干预措施，可能会对学生退伍军人关于人生意义和目的的报告产生积极影响。