Abstract
Millions of service members of the United States armed forces have served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in support of the global war on terrorism (GWOT). Many of these service members have returned home with mental health problems such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), major depression, generalized anxiety, or other mental health concerns. Yet, research has shown that roughly half of veterans who received mental health diagnoses or endorsed mental health concerns did not receive treatment. Constructs including stigma, perceived need for care, attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, gender role conflict, masculine ideology, military culture and stigma, and logistical concerns have been identified as barriers to seeking mental health care among veterans. The current survey represents a preliminary attempt to research gender role conflict, military stigma, attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, and militaristic attitudes in association with one another as well as with mental health care utilization among a general sample of male OEF/OIF veterans. Several significant relationships between variables were found, as were effects of mental health service utilization on these identified constructs. Implications for future research and the practice of counseling psychology are discussed amidst these findings.