This study identifies protective mechanisms related to decreased community violence in veterans and indicates that rehabilitation aimed at improving socioeconomic, psychosocial, and physical well-being has potential promise to reduce aggression and violence among veterans after returning home from military service.Ī number of empirical studies now document that aggressive or violent behavior toward others is a problem up to one-third of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans returning home from military service ( Jakupcak et al., 2007 Killgore et al., 2008 Sayer et al., 2010 Teten et al., 2010 Thomas et al., 2010). Multivariable analyses confirmed protective mechanisms lowered violence through their interaction with risk factors. We found these protective mechanisms predicted decreased aggression and violence at follow-up, particularly with higher risk veterans. Protective mechanisms in socioeconomic (money to cover basic needs, stable employment), psychosocial (resilience, perceiving control over one’s life, social support), and physical (healthy sleep, no physical pain) domains were examined. military post 9/11 in terms of age, sex, ethnicity, geography, and service branch. One thousand ninety veterans, from 50 states representing all military branches, completed two waves of data collection, one-year apart (retention rate=79%).

A national longitudinal survey was conducted between 20 using a random sample of veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. Although a subset of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans show aggression toward others after they return home from military service, little is known about protective mechanisms that could be bolstered to prevent violence.

Rule 47 by Lynn Van Dorn