THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF MILITARY SERVICE ON QUALITY-OF-LIFE - THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE

In this study, we examined the effects of military service during the Vietnam War on the quality of life in middle adulthood for a cohort of men characterized by a privileged socioeconomic status. The final sam ple included 374 men who, upon graduating from an Ivy League college i n 1966, performed military service in Vietnam, engaged in military ser vice during this time in regions other than Vietnam, or did not serve in the military. As indices of quality of life in the middle years, we used a set of health-related behaviors, a series of life transitions experienced after the age of 40, and satisfaction with various compone nts of life, as well as life as a whole. Multivariate analyses of vari ance and chi-square analyses revealed significant differences among th e sample subgroups on several quality-of-life indices. The subgroup of Vietnam veterans reported more frequent alcohol use than the nonveter ans. In terms of midlife transitions, the Vietnam veterans were most l ikely to have changed careers and to have moved residence, and the lea st likely to feel lonely in middle adulthood. Compared to the Vietnam veterans and the Vietnam-era veterans, the nonveteran group was least likely to have questioned their values, experienced depression, or to have moved to a new home. Finally, the Vietnam veterans were significa ntly less satisfied with their careers, finances, and with life in gen eral, compared to their nonveteran counterparts; however, they reporte d more satisfaction with their male friendships than did Vietnam-era v eterans. These findings suggest that the Vietnam War experience is ass ociated with lower quality of life during middle adulthood in certain domains, even among a select group of individuals, of high socioeconom ic status, whose privileged background could have presumably protected them from the adversities of the Vietnam War.