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Risk and Resilience: A Review of the Health Literature of Veterans Who Identify as LGBT

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Gay Mental Healthcare Providers and Patients in the Military

Abstract

Service members who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) were an almost invisible population since the dawn of the Continental Army in 1775. The decision to serve in the US Armed Forces despite a ban on their service was not an easy one. The literature shows that LGBT service members experienced harassment and violence and lived in constant fear of being “outed.” Theory suggests that the combination of this strain, along with the daily stress of the military as an occupation, placed LGBT service members at greater risk for adverse health conditions like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A review of recent research suggests that this theory may be true—LGBT veterans report high rates of depression, PTSD, and suicidality. The following chapter explores this important research but also highlights the need to explore experiences of resilience in this population. Because of their dedicated service despite historic bans and institutionalized discrimination, LGBT veterans represent a unique opportunity to explore resilience and posttraumatic growth.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Heliana Ramirez PhD, MSW

  2. University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Heliana Ramirez PhD, MSW

  3. Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, The City University of New York, New York City, NY, USA

    Katharine Bloeser PhD, MSW

  4. The War Related Illness and Injury Study Center at the Washington, DC VA Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Katharine Bloeser PhD, MSW

Authors
  1. Heliana Ramirez PhD, MSW
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  2. Katharine Bloeser PhD, MSW
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Correspondence to Heliana Ramirez PhD, MSW .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

    Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

  2. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Joseph E. Wise

  3. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Bryan Pyle

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Ramirez, H., Bloeser, K. (2018). Risk and Resilience: A Review of the Health Literature of Veterans Who Identify as LGBT. In: Ritchie, E., Wise, J., Pyle, B. (eds) Gay Mental Healthcare Providers and Patients in the Military. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66026-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66026-4_2

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