Latest news from º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ

3 Jun 2015

Reconstructing notions of military masculinity can benefit veterans’ mental health and wellbeing, new research reveals

Image: Thinkstock

Breaking down the barriers associated with stoic military masculinity can help boost the health and wellbeing of combat veterans, a º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ study has revealed.

Nick Caddick, Research Associate at the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, examined how a group of male combat veterans spoke about masculinity and how, following post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they enacted masculinities in accordance with the values that were acquired during military service.

Nick conducted 24 interviews with 16 veterans[1] over an 18-month period at a veterans’ charity called Surf Action, in Penzance. Aged between 27 and 60 years, the men learned to surf and socialise with other veterans, and this provided them with temporary respite from PTSD symptoms like nightmares, flashbacks, severe depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

It is estimated that 6.9 per cent of UK combat soldiers will go on to suffer significant distress as a result of their service.

The results of the study showed the various and sometimes contradictory ways in which ‘masculinity’ shaped the veterans’ lives:

  • Masculine identity as a danger to wellbeing. The veterans had learned to be strong and self-reliant, particularly when it came to dealing with PTSD. This meant they suffered increasing damage to their own mental wellbeing as they sought – sometimes desperately – to maintain the masculine image of themselves as ‘getting on with it’
  • ‘Fighting’ PTSD to boost wellbeing. In a group setting, the meaning of ‘getting on with it’ shifted from denying one’s suffering to actively fighting it and facing it head on, like a man. For the veterans, this was achieved through attending surf camps and residential weeks, talking to other veterans and engaging in meditation and relaxation sessions. Surfing also provided them with an opportunity to enact a positive, proactive version of masculinity in relation to PTSD that was valued by other veterans
  • Banter as a resource for wellbeing. For the veterans in this study, engaging in masculine banter re-established the camaraderie that for many had been the most enjoyable aspect of life in the forces, leading to strong interpersonal bonds – an important source of emotional support and wellbeing. In the context of PTSD, this led to an abandonment of stoic masculinity in favour of closeness and bonding, upholding the veterans’ masculine identities as ‘squaddies’ or ‘lads’
  • Contradictions of help-seeking. When it came to asking for help, the veterans would often force themselves to stoically ‘get on with it’ by themselves, even at a great cost to their own mental wellbeing and that of their partners. This is because they sometimes still remained caught up in the notion of distress as ‘weakness’. But, if help was offered by others to make the veteran ‘face up to his problems’, this assistance was more likely to be accepted, and could even be reconstructed as an affirmation of masculinity.

Nick said: “When I began this study, there was a lot of tension over how and when veterans could overcome the barriers to talking about mental health, particularly when it came to asking others for help. Because of their military background and ‘warrior’ image, these veterans were not used to talking about their problems.

“My research showed that a positive, proactive approach helped the men to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health and encouraged them to take control of the situation. This was particularly true in group storytelling scenarios, where the veterans were not expected to deal with PTSD by themselves. However, even among the supportive environment of the surfing charity, there were times when the dominant response of hiding PTSD still took precedence.

“Overall, the veterans were able to reconstruct the meaning of military masculinities in ways that were a benefit to their mental health and wellbeing.  With this in mind, health workers’ efforts to support and treat veterans with PTSD could be refocused on supporting this positive way of repackaging what it is to be male.”

Nick’s study – Male combat veterans’ narratives of PTSD, masculinity and health – has been published in Sociology of Health and Illness.

A related study – Collective stories and well-being: Using a dialogical narrative approach to understand peer relationships among combat veterans experiencing PTSD – has been published in Journal of Health Psychology. Its findings revealed that peer support proved to be therapeutic to the veterans and helped to normalise and legitimise PTSD-related problems, creating a feeling of acceptance and belonging.


[1] The veterans had served in a range of conflicts from the Falklands and Northern Ireland through to the most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While only 10 had been diagnosed with PTSD, all the participants referred to themselves as living with the disorder.

Notes for editors

Article reference number: PR 15/106

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, putting it among the best universities in the world, and was named University of the Year in the What Uni Student Choice Awards 2015. º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. It was 2nd in the 2015 THE Student Experience Survey and was named Sports University of the Year 2013-14 by The Times and Sunday Times. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

In 2015 the University will open an additional academic campus in London’s new innovation quarter. º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London, based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will offer postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities.

 

Surf Action was registered as a charity in 2011, having previously been a Community Interest Company. The charity's primary objective is to promote and protect the physical and psychological wellbeing of serving and former serving members of the armed forces, as well as the blue-light emergency services and their families who are living with physical and/or psychological difficulties as a result of their service. It also exists to assist their transition into civilian life. 

Surf Action promotes good mental health through personal development, education and employment. It empowers its service users to lead healthy, fulfilled and independent lives and to become valued and active members of their community. Core to achieving this is the use of the 'Blue Gym' concept (the sea) and involves its service users in surfing and other high intensity water-sports. 

In recent years, research has taken place which demonstrates that people can best support and enhance their own health and wellbeing by participating in regular physical activity. But while people are experiencing PTSD and many other severe stress-related conditions, they are blinkered to this fact. Surf Action’s intervention methods and joined up recovery tools and programmes give its service users the motivation and support that they need to succeed and lead a full and healthy life.  

The charity has developed a ‘Joined-Up Recovery’ model - an integrated recovery approach which gives the service users and their families a bespoke pathway they can access in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for themselves and their community. Nick Caddick’s research has been invaluable in examining this concept. For further details, visit www.surfaction.co.uk.

Contact for all media enquiries

Charlotte Hester

PR Officer
º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ
T: 01509 223491
E: C.L.Hester@lboro.ac.uk