Abstract
Religious congregations may be well equipped to address veterans’ reintegration needs, but little is known about the prevalence and nature of such support. We conducted a mixed methods study using nationally representative congregational survey data and in-depth interviews with congregational leaders. Overall, 28 % of congregations nationally reported having programming to support veterans and positive, independent predictors included: community context (county veteran presence, high-poverty census tract, rural compared to urban location); congregational resources (more adult attendees, having a paid employee that spent time on service programs); and external engagement (assessing community needs, collaboration, and social service participation). Qualitative interviews revealed a range of activities, including attending to spiritual issues, supporting mental, physical and social well-being, and addressing vocational, legal, financial, and material needs.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by RAND’s ongoing programs for Investing in People and Ideas, which are supported by Independent Research and Development resources that derive from RAND’s federally funded research and development centers’ contracts. The authors thank RAND colleagues Beth Ann Griffin, Ph.D., and Malcolm Williams, Ph.D., M.P.P., for helpful input on our quantitative analyses, and Margaret Harrell, Ph.D., Mollie Rudnick, M.S., and Diana Naranjo, M.P.H., for helping collect and analyze the qualitative data from congregations. Some of the quantitative data used in our analyses are derived from Sensitive Data Files of the National Congregation Study (NCS), obtained under special arrangements designed to protect the anonymity of respondents. These data are not available from the authors. Persons interested in obtaining NCS Sensitive Data Files should contact Mark Chaves at mac58@soc.duke.edu.
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Derose, K.P., Haas, A. & Werber, L. US Religious Congregations’ Programming to Support Veterans: A Mixed Methods Study. J Relig Health 55, 956–972 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0132-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0132-4