Use of College Mental Health Services Among Student Veterans

Abstract: Because today’s service members/veterans—who on average experience mental healthconcerns at rates that are higher than those of their civilian counterparts—are attendinginstitutions of higher education in record numbers, it is important to gain a better senseof how to support military-connected populations within campus settings. This studyexamined the association between mental health symptoms and use of college/universitycampus mental health services in a national sample of 706 college student veterans.Specifically, the prevalence of campus mental health service use among student veteranswas examined and the characteristics of student veterans who accessed campus mentalhealth services were identified. Analyses were performed using data from the 2011National College Health Assessment (NCHA) II conducted by the American CollegeHealth Association and were guided by Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Healthcare Uti-lization. Findings from our study revealed that, although access to and utilization ofcampus-based mental health services by service member and veteran students are high, little is known about whether or not those services are evidence-based for service member and veteran students. Recommendations for future best practices will be discussed.