Title: An examination of military veteran health and well-being following transition from the armed forces, and the role of physical activity
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Mark Beauchamp
Committee Members: Dr. Eli Puterman, Dr. Yan Liu
External Examiner: Dr. Marc Jones
University Examiners: Dr. Daniel Cox, Dr. Amery Wu
Chair: Dr. Suna Eryigit-Madzwamuse
Abstract: During transition from the military, veterans are at notable risk of mental and physical health deficits as they navigate their new civilian identity. The overall purpose of my doctoral dissertation research was to further understand the transition period, and in particular, examine whether physical activity can serve as a viable means of supporting the health and well-being of veterans after release from the military. To accomplish these objectives, in the first study of my dissertation I used a combination of mixture growth modeling and random forest analysis to examine a number of potential predictors of adjustment to life after service among Canadian military veterans using data derived from the Life After Service Survey (LASS). The results revealed several important predictors of adjusting well after transition including life satisfaction, mastery, mental health, body mass index, age, social support, general health, satisfaction with one’s main activity (e.g., employment, retirement) and finances, and income. The LASS did not examine the potential effects of physical activity (a modifiable health behaviour found to buffer against mental health deficits in other populations) during this transition period. To address this, my second study used parallel process latent growth modelling to examine the effect of physical activity on the psychological health trajectories of military personnel from the United States (U.S.) after release from service. This was done using data derived from the Millennium Cohort Study. The results revealed significant negative relationships between physical activity and psychological health trajectories (i.e., as physical activity increased, symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and poor mental health-related quality of life decreased). The final study of my dissertation involved qualitative interviews to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a social identity-informed sport program that was designed to support the health and well-being of Canadian military veterans. The results were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and revealed several benefits experienced by participants, such as improved mental and physical health, and social connections based on a shared military identity. Overall, the program was feasible to run, with potential for future scale-up. When taken together, the research reported within my dissertation has the potential to facilitate a greater understanding of factors related to adjustment after release from the military and the role in which physical activity can support military veterans following transition.