(PS4-91) Military Culture and the Student Veteran: A Mixed Methods Study of Service Members Transition into Higher Education

Military veterans are entering higher education spaces at a steady rate. While their visibility on U.S. campuses is increasing, these veterans face various challenges in entering higher education, i.e., entering classrooms with traditional aged students and trading a highly structured military setting for the less-structured college campus. Veterans may feel a sense of isolation and lack connections to their social environment. They may also battle medical and psychiatric conditions (i.e., PTSD, depression) at higher rates compared to their peers. This study aims to examine the transition process from military to student veteran as well as look at the process of navigating military identification within a civilian context through quantitative and qualitative methods. It is hypothesized that overidentification with military culture and identity may be negatively associated with social connection, meaning making, and satisfaction with life in student veterans. Further, certain experiences in the military (years of service, number of deployments, trauma, and combat,) may be negatively related to aspects of the reintegration process (finding purpose, sense of belonging) and may facilitate hardship in going back to school. This study uses a sequential, mixed-methods design which consists of two phases: a quantitative phase, followed by a qualitative phase. Data collection is ongoing, and analysis of data is forthcoming. Results from this study may help advance our understanding of student veterans’ transitions and assist educators and researchers to better understand and serve this growing population of students.