Unraveling Collegiate Resiliency: Risk and Protective Factors Among Non-Traditional Students and Veterans

Background: Veterans represent a growing subgroup of non-traditional students at universities and colleges across the United States. Despite this increased presence, research remains limited regarding positive indicators of well-being, risk factors, suicidality, and how these variables may be distinct from non-traditional students who are not veterans. Many existing depictions of veteran student needs represent a narrow focus, with conflicting findings indicating that students with veteran status are either at increased risk for suicide or report adverse mental health outcomes that occur at a rate matching civilian counterparts. The purpose of the present study was to identify how veteran and non-traditional students may differ in measures of risk and protection. In pursuit of this goal, research was guided by the following question: How do veteran students differ from other non-traditional student groups on indicators of both risk and success? Methods: Using student data from the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 administration of the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) National College Health Assessment (NCHA) (n = 33,855), analysis of variance was used to examine differences between veteran students and other non-traditional students. Five distinct measures of risk and protection were used for analysis: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 2 (CD-RISC2), the Diener Flourishing Scale, the Suicide Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Kessler 6 (K6) Non-Specific Psychological Distress Score. Results: Veteran students reported higher resilience, less psychological distress, and less loneliness when compared to non-traditional student peers. No statistically significant differences were found in suicidality or positive well-being. No significant differences were found in any measure between those veterans who reported serving in a geographic area of hazardous duty and those who had not. Conclusion: Notable distinctions exist between veterans and non-veteran peers within the non-traditional student category on measures of psychological distress, loneliness, and resilience. In general, results suggest that veteran students, including those with and without hazardous duty experience, may experience less risk and greater resilience than other non-traditional students. However, the benefits of resilience do not translate to changes in overall suicidality or perceptions of positive well-being.