Men's Appraisals of Their Military Experiences in World War II: A 40-Year Perspective.
Men's Appraisals of Their Military Experiences in World War II: A 40-Year Perspective.
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DOI：
10.1080/15427609.2012.705558
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发表时间：
2012-07-01
影响因子：
2.4
通讯作者：
Waldinger RJ
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Settersten RA Jr;Day J;Elder GH Jr;Waldinger RJ
使用纵向哈佛成人发展研究（N=241）的退伍军人数据，我们专注于兵役的主观方面。我们研究了第二次世界大战的退伍军人如何评价战后直接和40多年后的兵役的具体方面，以及兵役在他们生命历程中的作用。除了检查评估的变化，我们还检查了战后服务评估如何介导服务的客观方面的影响，以及战后心理调整和健康如何介导战后评估对晚年评估的影响。在这两个时间点，男性的评价通常是积极的，但不是高度积极的，并显示出四十年来的显著一致性。战后评估强烈预测晚年的评价和介导的客观服务变量的影响。战后评估的影响并没有通过心理调整或中年健康来延续。然而，更好的调整与晚年的评估呈负相关。结果加强了这样一种观点，即男性如何看待他们的军事经验可能比经验本身更重要。结果进行了讨论，根据样本的特点，第二次世界大战的历史背景下，评估和回顾的复杂性。
Using data on veterans from the longitudinal Harvard Study of Adult Development (N=241), we focused on subjective aspects of military service. We examined how veterans of World War II appraised specific dimensions of military service directly after the war and over 40 years later, as well as the role of military service in their life course. In addition to examining change in appraisals, we examined how postwar appraisals of service mediated the effects of objective aspects of service, and how postwar psychological adjustment and health mediated the effects of postwar appraisals, on later-life appraisals. Men’s appraisals at both time points were generally, but not highly, positive, and revealed remarkable consistency over four decades. Postwar appraisals strongly predicted later-life appraisals and mediated the effects of objective service variables. The effects of postwar appraisals were not carried forward through psychological adjustment or midlife health. Better adjustment, however, was negatively related to later-life appraisals. Results reinforce the idea that how men perceive their military experiences may be more important in predicting outcomes than the experiences themselves. Results are discussed in light of the sample characteristics, the historical context of World War II, and the complexities of appraisal and retrospection.