Military to civilian questionnaire: a measure of postdeployment community reintegration difficulty among veterans using Department of Veterans Affairs medical care.

The primary objective of this study was to describe the development, reliability, and construct validity of scores on the Military to Civilian Questionnaire (M2C-Q), a 16-item self-report measure of postdeployment community reintegration difficulty. We surveyed a national, stratified sample of 1,226 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who used U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care; 745 completed the M2C-Q and validated mental health screening measures. All analyses were based on weighted estimates. The internal consistency of the M2C-Q was .95 in this sample. Factor analyses indicated a single total score was the best-fitting model. Total scores were associated with measures theoretically related to reintegration difficulties including perception of overall difficulty readjusting back into civilian life (R(2) = .49), probable PTSD (d = 1.07), probable problem drug or alcohol use (d = 0.34), and overall mental health (r = -.83). Subgroup analyses revealed a similar pattern of findings in those who screened negative for PTSD. Nonwhite and unemployed veterans reported greater community reintegration difficulty (d = 0.20 and 0.45, respectively). Findings offer preliminary support for the reliability and construct validity of M2C-Q scores. Published 2011. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.