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ABSTRACT
Veteran community reintegration (VCR) difficulties impact personal, interpersonal, educational/occupational, and community aspects of returning military service members. Sense of community (SOC), an individual's feeling of membership, influence, need fulfillment, and emotional connection, is the theoretical underpinnings for community-based practice interventions used with this population. This study investigates the mediating role of SOC on the relationship between mental health risk factors (PTSD, depression, and suicidal ideation), employment status, and VCR difficulties among military veterans. Data used in this study (N = 131) were collected by the authors for an outcome evaluation study in 2013. Results found a statistically significant path from depression to SOC and a significant and direct path from SOC to VCR difficulties, suggesting that veterans who are connected to their local communities may be more at risk for depression and VCR difficulties. Practice implications suggest social workers should look beyond the local community as a resilience factor for military veterans and explore more culturally relevant responses (such as veteran support at public universities, individual social support, and local/virtual military support groups). Future research should continue the search for resilient factors among this millennial generation of returning military veterans.