Military sexual trauma (MST) was independently associated with postdeployment homelessness, with male veterans at greater risk than female veterans, according to a recent cohort study. Researchers examined data from the Department of Defense and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Included in the study were 601,892 US veterans deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan who separated from the military between 2001 and 2011 and subsequently used VHA services. They found:

• Among veterans with a positive screen for MST, rates of homelessness were 1.6% within 30 days, 4.4% within 1 year, and 9.6% within 5 years, more than double the rates of veterans with a negative MST screen.

• In regression models adjusted for demographic and military service characteristics, odds of experiencing homelessness were higher among those who screened positive for MST compared with those who screened negative.

• MST screen status remained independently associated with homelessness after adjusting for co-occurring mental health and substance abuse diagnoses in follow-up regression models.

• In the fully adjusted models, the interaction between MST status and sex was significant in the 30-day and 1-year cohorts, denoting higher risk for homelessness among males with a positive screen for MST.

Citation: Brignone E, Gundlapalli AV, Blais RK, Cater ME, et al. Differential risk for homelessness among US male and female veterans with a positive screen for military sexual trauma. [Published online ahead of print April 20, 2016]. JAMA Psychiatry. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0101.