Flourishing in Student Veterans With and Without Service-Connected Disability: Psychometric Validation of the Flourishing Scale and Exploration of Its Relationships With Personality and Disability

Abstract

Veterans are an increasing population in postsecondary education. Many student veterans have disabilities affecting their well-being and success in college. This study aims to add to current knowledge on well-being by exploring the relationship between flourishing, personality traits, and service-connected disability among student veterans. First, we set out to psychometrically validate the Flourishing Scale (FS) for student veterans. Second, we evaluated the association of the Big-Five personality traits and flourishing. Finally, we evaluated the differences in flourishing among student veterans with and without service-connected disabilities. Two hundred five student veterans were recruited for the current study. A random split-half approach was adopted to perform an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Subsequent to conducting the EFA and CFA, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between flourishing and Big-Five personality traits. Finally, an independent-samples t test was conducted to compare the flourishing scores of student veterans with and without a service-connected disability. Findings indicated FS is a reliable and valid scale that could be used to measure flourishing in student veterans. Detailed findings and their implications for rehabilitation counseling are provided.

Flourishing as a Measure of Global Well-being in First Year Residents: A Pilot Longitudinal Cohort Study

“…By definition, flourishing represents the presence of high social, emotional and psychological functioning, all fundamental components of the resilient phenotype, as demonstrated in multiple high-stress populations. 47 , 48 As such, our data suggest that these ascribed attributes also hold true among flourishing, procedurally-oriented, highly time-compressed graduate medical trainees. Thus, the MHC may serve as a screening instrument for well-being in this population of trainees and as a means for measuring the efficacy of curricular initiatives to address well-being.…”

Assessing Hope in Student Veterans

“…Research shows a link between deficits in hope and psychopathology, which for purposes of our study can be understood as negative psychological outcomes (e.g., suicidal risks, depression, and anxiety; Chang, Yu, Kahle, Jeglic, & Hirsch, 2013). Hope has also been associated with positive adaptation to stress and life satisfaction in students (Bailey, Eng, Frisch, & Snyder, 2007;Chang & DeSimone, 2001), and college adjustment, wellbeing, flourishing, and optimism in student veterans (Umucu, 2017;Umucu et al, 2018;Umucu, Grenawalt, et al, 2019;Umucu, Wu, et al, 2019).…”

Examining the Structure of the PERMA Theory of Well-Being in Veterans With Mental Illnesses

“…The five pillars of the PERMA contribute to overall well-being as second-order construct, and/or each can be defined and measured independently (Coffey et al, 2016; Seligman, 2011). In addition, previous research studies have found that pillars of PERMA and total PERMA scores were positively correlated with flourishing, resilience, hope, grit, optimism, and negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and functional disability (Tansey et al, 2018; Umucu, 2017; Umucu et al, 2018; Umucu et al, 2019; Umucu, Moser, & Bezyak, 2020; Umucu, Villegas, Viramontes, Jung, & Lee, 2020; Umucu et al, 2020), showing evidence for its concurrent validity. The PERMA has been tested as a well-being model; however, no research, from our knowledge, has been conducted to evaluate the PERMA for VwMI.…”