A Comparative Study of Veterans' Sexual Trauma Experiences Over Time
Abstract
Shyamala Karuvannur and Danielle N Dun
Background: Military sexual trauma (MST) is a prevalent issue with many concomitants. In the last 25 plus years there has been an increase in VA policies aimed to support recovery of MST victims, but there is limited research investigating their success. There have also been policies enacted in the military to prevent sexual assault and improve the care of personnel reporting sexual assault but no research on their effectiveness.
Objective: Our aim is to compare a sample of Veterans in 2004-2006 to a sample of Veterans in 2017-2023 to see if these policies have improved recovery in the VA system or improved effectiveness in the military.
Design: Subjects completed a self-report questionnaire about their MST experience, recovery, and concomitants.
Participants: Study 1 included 110 Veterans with MST (19-79 yo; 85% F) from the Northport VA between 2004-2006; Study 2 included 100 Veterans with MST (20-71 yo; 91% F) from the San Diego VA between 2017-2023.
Main Measures: Physical and psychological concomitants were assessed (e.g. chronic pain, pelvic pain, migraines, panic attacks, psychiatric diagnosis, alcohol/drug use, and suicide attempt).
Key Results: Physical concomitants did not improve between Study 1 and 2. In fact, Study 2 subjects were more likely to report chronic pain (X2 [1,N=199]=7.71, p=.005), pelvic pain (X2 [1,N=202]=8.45, p=.004), migraines (X2 [1,N=199]=10.59, p=.001), and panic attacks (X2 [1,N=199]=32.24, p<.001) than Study 1 subjects. Most psychological concomitants did not improve except lifetime drug use (X2 [1,N=209]=14.97, p<.001) and consumption of 3+ drinks per day (X2 [1,N=207]=25.67, p<.001). Subjects in Study 2 were more likely to report a psychiatric diagnosis (X2 [1,N=200]=13.40, p<.001).
Conclusions: Most physical and psychological concomitants associated with MST have not improved between the studies suggesting that MST-focused policies implemented between 2006-2017 have not significantly improved recovery. A re-evaluation of the policies aimed at supporting these Veterans is needed.