The overall objective of this study is to assess the impact of the Vietnam War on American society. We are investigating the current and long-range consequences of the Vietnam Era for those men eligible for military service during the years 1964-1972. Veterans, resisters, deserters, and nonveteran controls make up the samples stratified for age, race, and education, and drawn from three urban, and surburban sites, selected to offer maximal potential for studying contextual effects. Veterans are also stratified for service in Vietnam and elsewhere. A total of 444 interviews make up the completed sample, as follows: 184 veterans, 200 nonveterans, 49 resisters, and 11 deserters. The interviews provide life history profiles and multi-faceted measures of institutional adjustment and psychological integration. Data analysis will explore the relationships between background and experience and: (1) pathways through the War years; (2) institutional adjustment; and (3) psychological integration. Related social variables include work history, race relations and associational networks. Clinical variables are also utilized. Procedures will include various quantitative techniques, as well as systematic qualitative analyses of in-depth interviews.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter