ABSTRACT

Emerging adult (EA; aged 18–29) military-connected students experience major developmental changes, often coupled with the transition into the civilian sector and higher education. This conglomeration may exacerbate anxiety, stress, and negative coping mechanisms, including substance use. Substance use rates are highest among EAs, across the lifespan. To our knowledge, limited research has looked at EA military-connected students’ transition into higher education during this developmental stage. We qualitatively interviewed 16 EA military-connected students who reported high-risk substance use behaviors. To our knowledge, no student veteran research study has considered this characteristic. This is important since military members are more likely to misuse substances and encounter related consequences than their civilian counterparts, and these developmental and transitional stressors put them at higher risk for misusing substances. In 74-minute interviews, we asked participants about (1) challenges transitioning into higher education and (2) techniques helping professionals should use to support EA military-connected students. Two coders employed Thematic Analysis to identify themes using NVivo. We found challenges include: (1) starting over, (2) unable to relate to others, (3) lacking a purpose or plan, (4) support system changes, and (5) people view you as only a veteran. EA military-connected students’ suggestions for helping professionals include: (1) use straightforward communication, (2) show a genuine interest, (3) offer guidance on creating a support system, and (4) treat me as a human, not only a veteran. This study provides translational examples for helping professionals such as encouraging involvement in military and veteran community organizations to promote a sense of belonging.

摘要

新兴成人（EA；18-29 岁）与军队有联系的学生经历了重大的发展变化，通常伴随着向民用部门和高等教育的过渡。这种聚集可能会加剧焦虑、压力和消极应对机制，包括物质使用。在整个生命周期中，EA 中的物质使用率最高。据我们所知，有限的研究着眼于 EA 军事相关学生在这一发展过程中向高等教育的过渡阶段。我们定性地采访了 16 名报告有高风险物质使用行为的 EA 军方学生。据我们所知，还没有学生退伍军人研究研究考虑过这一特征。这一点很重要，因为军人比平民更容易滥用药物并遭遇相关后果，而这些发展和过渡压力源使他们滥用药物的风险更高。在 74 分钟的访谈中，我们向参与者询问了 (1) 过渡到高等教育的挑战和 (2) 帮助专业人员应该用来支持 EA 军事相关学生的技术。两名编码员采用主题分析来使用 NVivo 识别主题。我们发现挑战包括：(1) 重新开始，(2) 无法与他人相处，(3) 缺乏目标或计划，(4) 支持系统的变化，以及 (5) 人们认为你只是一个老手。EA 军事相关学生对帮助专业人士的建议包括：(1) 使用直截了当的沟通方式，(2) 表现出真正的兴趣，(3) 提供有关创建支持系统的指导，以及 (4) 将我视为人，而不仅仅是一个老兵。本研究提供了帮助专业人士的转化示例，例如鼓励参与军队和退伍军人社区组织以促进归属感。