Research has begun to demonstrate the benefits of mindfulness and self-compassion for military veterans. However, investigation has lacked on how a prominent feature of military culture, adherence to masculine norms, may impact veterans' experiences of these practices. This research examined the interrelationships among masculinity, mindfulness, and self-compassion as well as how these variables predict well-being (coping and quality of life) in 164 military veterans. Veterans completed all study measures via an online survey. Results demonstrated that mindfulness and self-compassion both predict better coping and quality of life and are related to lower adherence to masculine norms. Masculinity was found related to less active coping, more avoidant/negative emotionality coping, and worse mental health-related quality of life. The Masculinity subscale of Success Dedication, however, was associated with greater mindfulness and active coping and better quality of life. Exploratory results demonstrated a significant moderation effect in which mindfulness predicted greater active coping for veterans with low masculinity but not for veterans with high masculinity. This study provides preliminary data on the role of masculine norms in the context of mindfulness and self-compassion. Although findings link total masculinity scores to negative outcomes, the masculinity component of Success Dedication appears to be a point of commonality between masculinity and mindfulness. Therefore, an effective strategy for clinicians may be to begin the teaching of mindfulness by emphasizing elements that appeal to veterans' norms of success. Public Significance StatementTraditional masculinity among military veterans was associated with lower levels of mindfulness, self-compassion, and mental health-related quality of life as well as with greater levels of avoidant styles of coping. However, the specific masculinity norm related to work success showed relationships with better health and, specifically, a positive relationship with mindfulness. Therefore, although traditional masculinity overall is associated with greater health risks, work success may represent an adaptive element of traditional masculinity.

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Background The Veterans Health Administration is rolling out a Whole Health system of care as part of an enhanced focus on proactive, person-centered healthcare. Objective Our program evaluation seeks to characterize what Veterans use Whole Health services, for what diagnoses they are seeking Whole Health services, and to examine “high utilizers” of Whole Health services. Methods Data were collected on 174 Veterans using Whole Health services from December 2018 through March 2020 and consisted of chart review and self-report data. Results Women were more likely than men Veterans to use individual only Whole Health services. High utilizers (the top 30% of the sample in Whole Health services used) were more likely to attend groups than the remainder of the sample. Conclusion Future work should examine the community-building aspects of Whole Health and ways to create group programming tailored to women Veterans.

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