Conducting Qualitative Research on Stigmatizing Conditions With Military Populations

Abstract

This article addresses the conduct of qualitative research regarding sensitive or stigmatizing topics with military populations, and provides suggestions for implementing culturally responsive and effective data collection with these groups. Given high rates of underreporting of sensitive and stigmatizing conditions in the military, qualitative methods have potential to shed light on phenomena that are not well understood. Drawing on a study of U.S. Army National Guard personnel by civilian anthropologists, we present lessons learned and argue that the value of similar studies can be maximized by culturally responsive research design.

Demystifying the “Victimized State”

“…A threshold has been crossed' (Jolly, 1996, p. 37). As a participant from Lincoln et al's (2016) findings acutely corroborates, 'You don't just get rid of it because it's-you're so in tune with it. It's taken years and years and years and years to get to that level.…”

“…Once learned, these behaviors are not easily unpracticed and are unlikely to simply disappear upon discharge from the military, including for those who may never come under the nomothetic gaze of state services (McGarry et al, 2015). For Lincoln et al (2016), capturing these experiences instead requires an engagement with culturally responsive qualitative research that is out of the reach of 'the neutral, obfuscating language of official policy' (p. 7). The argument being developed here follows this rationale and advocates for more research of this nature to illuminate an awareness of institutionalized vulnerability existing on a continuum, not in isolation, of merely being a military ''veteran.''…”

“…Other studies have since been active in this regard in addressing the stigma of mental health within the military institution. For example, as McGarry, Walklate, and Mythen (2015) aver, the inculcation into military life is one that is both institutionally functional during service but also fosters an environment of hypermasculinity that stigmatizes mental health as weakness, fosters negative attitudes to help-seeking behavior (Brunger, Serrato, & Ogden, 2013; Hoge et al., 2004; Iversen et al., 2011; Sharp et al, 2016; Lincoln, Ames, & Moore, 2016), and encourages unhealthy relationships with alcohol use (Iversen & Greenberg, 2009). Once learned, these behaviors are not easily unpracticed and are unlikely to simply disappear upon discharge from the military, including for those who may never come under the nomothetic gaze of state services (McGarry et al., 2015).…”

Opioid Use Initiation, Progression, and Motivations Among OEF/OIF/OND-Era Veterans in New York City: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis

“…Understanding these etiological differences among military and postmilitary populations is critical both to providing effective screening, prevention, and treatment (Lincoln, Ames, & Moore, 2016) and to understanding the contexts for substance use cessation, maintenance, and escalation after military service, a topic of great importance established by the pioneering work of Lee Robins on Vietnamera opioid abuse and recovery (Robins, 1993; Robins, Davis, & Nurco, 1974; Robins, Helzer, Hesselbrock, & Wish, 2010; Robins & Slobodyan, 2003). This analysis offers an examination of opioid use initiation patterns among an Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND)-era cohort of formerly enlisted veterans, providing an epidemiological attention to how opioid use initiation differs by birth cohort (Novak, Bluthenthal, Wenger, Chu, & Kral, 2016) among different military cohorts which came of age during different national drug epidemics (Golub & Johnson, 2001; Golub, Johnson, & Dunlap, 2005; Musto, 1993) and, accordingly, may have initiated and continued to use opioids in different ways.…”

Narrative approach in understanding the drivers for resilience of military combat medics

“…Qualitative research methods are designed to offer insights into people’s lived experiences. The wider implementation of qualitative methods may enable greater understanding of the ecological factors affecting military populations, especially when addressing potentially stigmatising topics such as mental health 1 2…”