Veteran Evolution: What Makes a Veteran

Abstract

American Veterans currently represent a poorly understood, underrepresented segment of the population. While cultural competence is critical to the practices of psychotherapy and clinical research (Cameron, 2023), numerous divergent strategies for defining Veteran investigational cohorts can be found, at times including participants that are still actively serving or their dependents (Delgado et al., 2021). Simultaneously, our Veterans have been shown to be at a greater risk for a range of biopsychosocial challenges than normed civilians (Grossbard et al., 2013). This study sought to identify the culturally preferred strategy of self-identification of US Veterans. It has been hypothesized that the preferred self-identification of Veterans is “Veteran” while the Service Members identify with the branch of service. 325 participants were selected at random from an archival dataset of 655 respondents who were asked their preferred method of self-identification. The study population was inclusive of 94 Service Members and 231 Veterans. The responses indicate that membership in both Service Member and Veteran groups is exclusive, with 100% of Veterans preferring to identify as a Veteran and 100% of Service Members identifying with the branch of service.