Lives in Transition: returning to civilian life with a physical injury or condition. Final report.
Executive Summary: This report presents the final findings of a project funded by Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) called Understanding the transition to civilian life for ex-service personnel with physical conditions as a direct result of service or acquired whilst in service. Running from April 2019to October 2021, this project was the #rst substantive qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) to explore how service leavers experience the transition to civilian life when they have left the Armed Forces with a physical injury or condition. Despite the prevalence of physical conditions and injuries as a factor in leaving service, there is limited research that provides a holistic view of the experiences of this cohort. Our project was therefore structured to provide an exploration of the various stages of people’s journeys from injury/condition within service through to accessing civilian systems, support and employment.
Abstract: Objective: The present study is a retrospective quasi-experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Warrior PATHH (WP) program at improving posttraumatic growth (PTG) outcomes and reducing PTSD symptoms compared to a waitlist control among a sample of Veterans. Method: Participants (n = 164) were U.S. military Veterans with a history of trauma. Participants were either undergoing the Warrior PATHH program or a waitlist. Primary outcome measures were administered at baseline and at 90-day follow-up and consisted of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory – Expanded (PTGI-X) and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Secondary outcome measures assessed psychosocial functioning and included measures of depression and anxiety symptoms, sleep, wellbeing, and social support. Results: Significant differences were observed between groups on the PTGI-X (F(1, 205) = 23.667, p < .001, partial η2 = 0.103), and the PCL-5 (F(1, 205) = 262.460, p < .001, partial η2 = 0.561) with the WP group showing significant positive psychological change following a traumatic event as measured by the PTGI-X and decreased PTSD symptoms as measured by the PCL-5 compared to those in the waitlist condition. Those in the treatment arm also demonstrated gains to psychosocial functioning. Conclusions: Consistent with previous research, participants in the Warrior PATHH program exhibited significant increases in PTG outcomes, decreased PTSD symptoms, and broad improvements to psychosocial functioning. These findings suggest it is an effective training program to foster PTG outcomes among Veterans. This study is unique as it is the first to compare the effects of WP programming with a sample of waitlisted Veterans.