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The Effects of Mental Illness on Trust Between Military Veterans

Abstract

dc:description

Service members have reported the perception that seeking treatment for, and/or having a mental illness will cause a loss of trust between a service member and his/her leaders and peers (Nash, Silva, and Litz, 2009; Hoge et al, 2004). This study aimed to determine if the presence of a mental illness affects the trust between service members and determine whether other variables moderated this relationship. Using social media and Mechanical Turk an internet participant-recruiting site operated by Amazon, data were collected from 220 military Veterans. Participants were assessed using a research developed Demographics Questionnaire, the Combat Exposure Scale, The Unit Cohesion Scale, and the Trust in Teams Scale. Participants were randomized into three groups. Each of the three groups read a different scenario depicting a service member. Results of this study do not support the existence of a measureable loss in trust with disclosure of a mental illness. A significant increase in predictability and global trust scores was observed when participants read the scenario different scenarios. The results, specifically that trust did not change as a function of a unit member displaying symptoms of mental illness and that treatment for a mental illness, improved trust scores on the facets of global trust and predictability, provide the basis for future research into this area.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Grantor dc:publisher
NSUWorks

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Reihl, Kristina Marie
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Barry Nierenberg
  • Christian DeLucia
  • Jedidiah Siev

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_stuetd/97

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Nova Southeastern University
Base URL
nsuworks.nova.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-08-21
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Reihl, Kristina Marie. The Effects of Mental Illness on Trust Between Military Veterans. Dissertation thesis, NSUWorks, https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_stuetd/97