Military acculturation and readjustment to the civilian context.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Attitudes and beliefs related to immersion in military culture can affect postseparation transition to the civilian setting. The etiology and complexity of these reactions are often overlooked by mental health providers, which can result in negative consequences for treatment. This qualitative study examined veterans' perceptions of military culture and the impact of military service on veterans' values, beliefs, and behaviors. The goal of this research was to identify aspects of military culture that are important for health care providers to consider as they care for veterans and to inform culturally sensitive mental health care for veterans. METHOD: Fifty-two military veterans completed a self-report survey and participated in semistructured focus groups. RESULTS: Participants reported diverse military experiences, and many endorsed a high level of continuing identification with aspects of military culture. Seven broad themes related to military culture emerged from qualitative analyses: (a) military values, beliefs, and behaviors; (b) relationships; (c) occupational habits and practices; (d) acquired skills; (e) communication; (f) affiliation; and (g) psychological health and well-being. CONCLUSION: This thematic analysis elucidated strategies to improve mental health services for veterans, using a nuanced model that encourages providers to better distinguish aspects of cultural transition from psychopathology. Results underscored the importance of training mental health providers to ensure sensitivity to military culture. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Factors related to military culture, beliefs about civilians, and help seeking play a crucial role in transition and healthy adjustment.
“Further, factors related to military culture, beliefs about civilians, and help seeking have also subsequently been established to play a crucial role in transition and healthy adjustment [33, 34].”
From Feasibility, acceptability, and initial outcomes of a psychological adjustment and reintegration program for transitioned military veterans (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
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“In other words, aspects of identity previously formed in the civilian world are displaced by a dominant military identity (McCaslin et al., 2021).”
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“Many strongly identified with the military camaraderie and claimed that the military had shaped them and greatly influenced their lives (McCaslin et al., 2021).”
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“Further, factors related to military culture, beliefs about civilians, and help seeking have also subsequently been established to play a crucial role in transition and healthy adjustment [33, 34].”
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Doak, D., McColl, M. A., & Aiken, A. B. (2025) · Journal of Military Veteran and Family Health · doi:10.3138/jmvfh-2024-0032
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Alichniewicz, K., Fisher, G., Tabinga, A., & Guindalini, C. (2026) · Australian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00049530.2026.2664166
“These findings align with contemporary conceptualisations positioning psychological and cultural adjustment as central to post-service well-being (McCaslin et al., 2021; Romaniuk et al., 2020) and reinforce recent Australian policy recommendations emphasising improved transition support (Royal…”
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“The military can be a deeply formative experience because it changes an individual physically, mentally, and emotionally, shaping a person’s character and worldview (McCaslin et al. 2021).”
Moments of military identity change: A qualitative evidence synthesis
Priest, P., Hoppe, T., Oku, E., Gulasingam, A., Held, N. J., Pedlar, D., Kuluski, K., & Majid, U. (2026) · Journal of Military Veteran and Family Health · doi:10.3138/jmvfh-2025-0117
- Authors
- McCaslin, S. E., Becket-Davenport, C., Dinh, J. V., Lasher, B., Kim, M., Choucroun, G., & Herbst, E.
- Affiliations
- National Center for PTSD (US)
- Baruch College (US)
- San Francisco VA Medical Center (US)
- Northern California Institute for Research and Education (US)
- Venue
- Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
- Published
- 2021-09
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 611-620
- ISSN
- 1942-9681 (ISSN-L)
- 1942-969X
- OpenAlex
- W3123263437
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 5.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Northern California Institute for Research and Education
- Heart and Armor Foundation for Veterans Health (H&A 4004)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Education and Military Integration
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Keywords
- military culture, military veterans, acculturation, cultural transition, veterans' mental health, culturally sensitive mental health care, provider training, psychological well-being
- MeSH terms
- Acculturation, Communication, Humans, Military Personnel, Veterans, Qualitative Research
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