Exploring the Victimization of British Veterans: Comparing British Beliefs About Veterans With Beliefs About Soldiers

Abstract

Evidence suggests that most of the UK public appreciate currently serving UK Armed Forces personnel but are less positive in their beliefs about veterans. This research examined the social representations held by civilian participants of UK veterans and serving soldiers to understand why veterans may be seen more negatively. An open-ended word association task was completed by 234 UK participants where they were asked to provide three initial responses to the words “veteran” and “soldier” and to evaluate their responses in accordance to prototypicality. The 1,404 resultant associations were grouped into 14 thematic clusters. Using the hierarchical evocation method, the results suggest “heroizing associations” to be a defining core element for “soldier” and “veteran” but “victimizing associations” to be an element only for “veteran.” Principal component analyses suggest victimizing associations are related to war and deindividuated associations; “heroizing associations” are related to characterizations of the veteran’s personality. Implications and future directions are discussed.

“The Best Place to Be a Veteran” (?): An Examination of the Current Veteran Experience Within the United Kingdom

“…Operational history and its legitimacy have a role in perceiving veterans as "passive, naïve actors," engraining a victimisation narrative within the Veteran experience (Phillips et al, 2022, p. 419). Furthermore, veterans within the UK are often seen more negatively compared to serving personnel and are perceived as holding both a heroizing and victimising role in public perception (Phillips et al, 2020), further complicating the public's understanding of the "veteran experience." It is a known fact that there is a relationship between publicly prevalent beliefs regarding veterans and their successful reintegration into society (Phillips et al, 2020).…”

“…Furthermore, veterans within the UK are often seen more negatively compared to serving personnel and are perceived as holding both a heroizing and victimising role in public perception (Phillips et al, 2020), further complicating the public's understanding of the "veteran experience." It is a known fact that there is a relationship between publicly prevalent beliefs regarding veterans and their successful reintegration into society (Phillips et al, 2020). In fact, when examining public perceptions of veterans, many members of the public hold factually incorrect beliefs (Phillips et al, 2020), which could further complicate a veteran's already complicated transition.…”

“…It is a known fact that there is a relationship between publicly prevalent beliefs regarding veterans and their successful reintegration into society (Phillips et al, 2020). In fact, when examining public perceptions of veterans, many members of the public hold factually incorrect beliefs (Phillips et al, 2020), which could further complicate a veteran's already complicated transition.…”