Facilitating reintegration for military service personnel, veterans, and their families: An introduction to the special issue.

Abstract

As service members return from active duty and, in some cases, exit the military, they face a process of reintegration (also referred to as community reintegration) as they seek to resume participation in their life roles as civilians. Facilitating this dynamic process of reintegration for service members, veterans, and their families-including outlining potential strategies for supporting this return to civilian life and its demands, roles, and responsibilities-is the focus of this Special Issue. Reintegration has been framed as a national priority (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015) and has been a point of emphasis of efforts at federal, state, and local levels. As the articles in this issue suggest, multiple public, private, and voluntary systems and the communities to which service members, veterans, and their families return can help influence their health outcomes and, ultimately, their reintegration. (PsycINFO Database Record

Assessing psychological adjustment and cultural reintegration after military service: development and psychometric evaluation of the post-separation Military-Civilian Adjustment and Reintegration Measure (M-CARM)

“…While the literature suggests some veterans adjust to civilian society with little difficulty, a significant proportion of veterans experience reintegration challenges [ 5 , 8 , 9 ]. A U.S. investigation found that up to 56% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans receiving Veteran Affairs medical care reported substantial difficulties reintegrating, with 96% of the sample expressing interest in services to help readjust to civilian life [ 10 ].…”

Reintegration for Post-treatment Cancer Survivors: A Concept Analysis

“…Reintegration is described as a broad holistic concept, which examines military personnel's psychological, physical, social, communal, and vocational components of health after their active duty has ended (Elnitsky, Fisher, & Blevins, 2017). Reintegration for military personnel was further described as a dynamic process where individuals sought to resume association in social roles as civilians (Elnitsky & Kilmer, 2017). Desired community reintegration is dependent upon multidimensional support systems, including communal support, self-motivation, and social networks, for individuals transitioning from military to civilian life (Wewiorski et al, 2018).…”

Team Red, White & Blue: a community-based model for harnessing positive social networks to enhance enrichment outcomes in military veterans reintegrating to civilian life

“…Thus, while health systems such as the VA provide important care for medical and behavioral health care needs of veterans and their support networks, a large proportion of veterans’ reintegration and health care needs are not adequately met [ 1 , 2 , 13 ]. Given the complex medical and mental health needs of veterans and the critical impact of reintegration on health outcomes, novel social interventions are needed to help support healthy lifestyles and relationships during this critical transition [ 2 , 4 , 10 , 47 , 48 ].…”

“…Having strongly supportive communities that can provide broad assistance and advocacy through the transition process is essential, particularly for returning combat veterans coping with mental health conditions. Stronger social networks support better mental health outcomes for veterans by mitigating against the effects of social isolation, loneliness, and alienation that can contribute to depression, anxiety, suicide, divorce, and difficulty integrating into civilian roles [ 47 , 48 , 77–79 ].…”