'Once an Army man always an Army man': The role of military culture and identity in military to civilian transition.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: 'Once an Army man always an Army man': The role of military culture and identity in military to civilian transition.
Authors: Sachdev, Shivani, Dixit, Shikha
Source: Asian Journal of Social Psychology. Mar2025, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p1-16. 16p.
Subjects: Corporate culture, Interviewing, Cultural competence, Conflict (Psychology), Psychology of military personnel, Psychology of veterans, Thematic analysis, Military service, Transitional programs (Education), Research methodology, Social adjustment, Phenomenology, Ego (Psychology)
Abstract: Military institutionalization involves internalizing military values, norms and structured behaviours that differ significantly from civilian life, leading to culture shock during the transition. Career experiences in the military imprint behaviours and identities that shape subsequent roles and how retired officers transition to the civilian world. The present study explored how military culture and identity influence military‐to‐civilian transition difficulty among retired army officers. Fourteen semi‐structured interviews were conducted and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, resulting in three overarching themes: Transition and Contrasting Cultures, Transition and the Role of Military Imprinting and Relearning—Connecting Disparate Cultures. The themes are divided into subthemes that shed light on how veterans navigate cultural disparities, experience identity and ego conflict tribulation and highlight factors that facilitate bridging the military–civilian cultural gap. The study's findings underscore the pivotal influence of military culture and the identity forged within military organizations on veterans' transition experiences. These insights carry significant implications for veterans and reintegration programs. It further offers possible suggestions to enhance transition interventions by addressing psychological distress related to reculturation and identity transition to facilitate smoother integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Asian Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: pbh
DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
An: 183818675
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: 'Once an Army man always an Army man': The role of military culture and identity in military to civilian transition.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sachdev%2C+Shivani%22">Sachdev, Shivani</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dixit%2C+Shikha%22">Dixit, Shikha</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Asian+Journal+of+Social+Psychology%22">Asian Journal of Social Psychology</searchLink>. Mar2025, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p1-16. 16p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Corporate+culture%22">Corporate culture</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interviewing%22">Interviewing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+competence%22">Cultural competence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Conflict+%28Psychology%29%22">Conflict (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+of+military+personnel%22">Psychology of military personnel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+of+veterans%22">Psychology of veterans</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thematic+analysis%22">Thematic analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Military+service%22">Military service</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Transitional+programs+%28Education%29%22">Transitional programs (Education)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+methodology%22">Research methodology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+adjustment%22">Social adjustment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phenomenology%22">Phenomenology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ego+%28Psychology%29%22">Ego (Psychology)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Military institutionalization involves internalizing military values, norms and structured behaviours that differ significantly from civilian life, leading to culture shock during the transition. Career experiences in the military imprint behaviours and identities that shape subsequent roles and how retired officers transition to the civilian world. The present study explored how military culture and identity influence military‐to‐civilian transition difficulty among retired army officers. Fourteen semi‐structured interviews were conducted and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, resulting in three overarching themes: Transition and Contrasting Cultures, Transition and the Role of Military Imprinting and Relearning—Connecting Disparate Cultures. The themes are divided into subthemes that shed light on how veterans navigate cultural disparities, experience identity and ego conflict tribulation and highlight factors that facilitate bridging the military–civilian cultural gap. The study's findings underscore the pivotal influence of military culture and the identity forged within military organizations on veterans' transition experiences. These insights carry significant implications for veterans and reintegration programs. It further offers possible suggestions to enhance transition interventions by addressing psychological distress related to reculturation and identity transition to facilitate smoother integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Asian Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=183818675
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/ajsp.70003
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Corporate culture
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interviewing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cultural competence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Conflict (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychology of military personnel
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychology of veterans
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Thematic analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Military service
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Transitional programs (Education)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research methodology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social adjustment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phenomenology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ego (Psychology)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: 'Once an Army man always an Army man': The role of military culture and identity in military to civilian transition.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sachdev, Shivani
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Dixit, Shikha
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: Mar2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 13672223
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 28
            – Type: issue
              Value: 1
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Asian Journal of Social Psychology
              Type: main
ResultId 1