When the golden years are not so golden: Aging women Veterans, MST, PTSD, and homelessness.

Introduction: Women Veterans are an increasingly larger percentage of U.S. and Canadian Veterans, 11%-15% of those who have served. They face many challenges, including poverty, military sexual trauma (MST), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and homelessness, and their trajectory into post-service difficulties is little researched and poorly understood. Methods: The authors conducted a large study of women Veterans from multiple service eras, well represented with respect to race and ethnicity, geographical region, branch of service, and so forth (N = 2,497). After identifying older Veterans with extensive years of service, they examine the influence of MST, PTSD, and their combination, as well as that of other variables, such as U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) eligibility and enrollment, on the risk for homelessness. Bivariate, trivariate, and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the prevalence of MST, PTSD, and homelessness by age categories. Results: At least 20% of women Veterans with 20 years or more of service had experienced homelessness. The influence of MST and PTSD, alone or together, was prominent. The model correctly predicts identification of homelessness more than 70% of the time, with a Cox and Snell R Discussion: The authors focus on the older sub-sample with extended years of service and contribute to the literature with data and commentary on aging women Veterans' lived experiences and responses to trauma. MST and PTSD are the most important predictors of homelessness. Policy and practice implications are discussed.