Military Sexual Trauma
in Treatment-Seeking Women Veterans
Erin L. Rowe
Institute on Urban Health Research, Northeastern University, Boston,
Massachusetts
Jaimie L. Gradus and Suzanne L. Pineles
National Center for PTSD,Women’s Health Sciences Division, VA Boston
Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, and Department of Psychiatry,
Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
Sonja V. Batten
VA Maryland Healthcare System, University of Maryland School
of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Eve H. Davison
National Center for PTSD,Women’s Health Sciences Division, VA Boston
Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, and Department of Psychiatry,
Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
As the number of women serving in the military continues to grow, it is increasingly
important to explore the sequelae of military sexual trauma (MST) among female
veterans. The current study included 232 female veterans who sought outpatient
mental health treatment at an urban Veterans Affairs hospital. The study’s aims were
to (a) describe and compare the demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and
psychological symptoms of female veterans who have experienced MST to those
veterans who do not report this experience; and (b) examine the associations between
psychological symptoms and health behaviors in this sample, stratified by MST sta-
MILITARY PSYCHOLOGY, 21:387–395, 2009
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0899-5605 print / 1532-7876 online
DOI: 10.1080/08995600802565768
Correspondence should be addressed to Eve H. Davison, Ph.D., Women’s Health Sciences Division
(116B-3), VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 South Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02130. E-mail:
Eve.Davison@va.gov