Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resilience Among the Different Generations of Active Duty Military
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2020
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Abstract
The rise in mental health disorders and suicide rates among active duty military (ADM) service members in the last decade prompted a surge in resilience research. Research has shown that exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may impact the resilience of individuals and lead to increased rates of mental illness. Recent studies identified that increased suicidal behaviors and risk for the development of mental illness may partly be attributable to the changes in the characteristics of the newest generation of recruits such as lower attention and inhibitory control competencies. Despite the increased attention, few studies have focused on ACEs and resilience among the different generations of ADM. Acknowledging this lack of research, this dissertation study used quantitative methods to examine the profile of ACEs among ADM service members and the relationship of resilience and ACEs among the different generations of ADM service members. The three research questions asked what the profile of ACEs among ADM service members is, what is the association between exposure to ACEs with resilience, and how does generation of ADM impact the relationship between ACEs and resilience.
This study draws data from the Warrior Resiliency Study (WRS), which included the demographic information, the ten question ACE questionnaire, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) from 250 ADM service members from the U.S. Army. Data were analyzed using R Software for statistical computing of latent class analysis, latent class regression, and moderation analysis. Results of the study found four typologies or subgroups of ACEs among ADM service members that were named Class 1 Low Personal Risk/Low Environmental Risk, Class 2 Moderate Personal Risk/High Environmental Risk, Class 3 High Personal Risk/Moderate Environmental Risk, and Class 4 High Personal Risk/High Environmental Risk. Using latent class regression, resilience predicted membership for Class 3 and Class 4. Moderation analysis was conducted to examine the interaction between ACEs and age on resilience. The results showed that, at a specific age range (26.67 to 31.25 years), the impact of ACEs on resilience was greater with more ACEs. The results confirm the significance of any ACEs and high ACEs (3 or more) as predictors of resilience. Additional moderation analysis was conducted to examine the interaction between ACEs and generation on resilience. The non-significant interaction findings between ACEs and generations showed differences between Generation Z when exposed to a high number of ACEs (3-10) than their older generational cohorts. Overall, the results of this study point to the importance of examining ACEs for resilience and suggest that certain subgroups of ADM service members may need additional support as they continue with military service and rise in rank and responsibility. The results also point to the importance of examining ACEs and resilience among different generations and offer directions for future research on measuring generations among this population as increased number of Generation Z join the military as new recruits.
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Social work, active duty military service members, adverse childhood experiences, generation, resilience
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174 pages
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