Psychosocial Predictors of Depression & Substance Use In Student Veterans: The Role of Belonging and Self-Efficacy

For student service members/veterans (SSM/Vs), the transition from military service to higher education is often challenging (Kirchner, 2015). Compared to their civilian counterparts, SSM/Vs have higher rates of problematic substance use (Barry et al., 2014) and double risk of experiencing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress (Valenstein et al., 2020). Understanding these disparities, researchers have often cited trauma exposure, adjustment difficulties, and the impact of social influence and support as key factors affecting the mental health of SSMVs (Gros et al., 2019; NIDA, 2019).  Given the military’s emphasis of group membership and social value (Wong, 2006), SSM/Vs may be uniquely affected by psychosocial factors tied to their social identity as a student, such as their sense of belonging or academic self-efficacy.

This presentation examines the unique contributions of university belonging, academic self-efficacy, and stress on predicting substance use and depression in a sample (N=142) of SSM/Vs from across the southern United States. After controlling for stress, results revealed that SSM/Vs relationship with faculty/staff (β = .21), affiliation with the university (β = -.25), and roommate self-efficacy (β = -.16) all uniquely predicted depressive symptoms, with the complete model accounting for 66% of the variance. Only faculty/staff relationships (β = .25) was a unique predictor of substance use, with the complete model accounting for 8% of the variance. Findings highlight the critical role of how an SSMV/s feelings of connection and support might shape their health outcomes. Implications for collegiate health initiatives and faculty/staff training related to SSM/Vs will be discussed.