by Rachel Linsner
During my first year of graduate school, I became interested in the experiences of military personnel and their families. In the summer of 2014, I worked as an intern at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS), a part of the Department of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress responds to the psychological outcomes of traumatic events, including war, natural disasters, and terrorism.
While at CSTS, I worked closely with Dr. James McCarroll, a retired Army psychologist. McCarroll conducts research on mortuary affairs soldiers and family violence in the Army, in addition to assisting in other research projects at the center. He taught me about military structure and culture, as well as stressors and strengths specific to Army soldiers and families. I also assisted his research on the psychological stress of Army mortuary affairs operations, the military operation that returns fallen soldiers home.
After my incredible experience at the CSTS, I wanted to continue studying military families. I am fortunate to work as a research analyst at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, which has greatly contributed to my continuing education on service members, veterans, and military families. My main responsibilities have been for the Blue Star Families 2015 Military Family Lifestyle Survey.
I primarily focused on the transition from military to civilian life for service members and their families. The data indicated that many transitioning service members, veterans, and their families have little awareness of available transition resources and benefits. Additionally, many veterans reported particular difficulty in their employment and financial transitions. Since the transition from military to civilian life is a significant and often challenging time for military families, I plan to further study the factors that ease or worsen this process for families.
Additionally with the help of Rachel Razza, associate professor of child and family studies, I hope to propose and evaluate a mindfulness program for military children and parents in the local areas.
Rachel Linsner is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Child and Family Studies. Her research interests are in military families, trauma, child maltreatment, and family/parenting stress.