摘要：Objectives. This study estimated the proportion of veterans among homeless women and their risk of homelessness relative to that of nonveterans. Methods. Data came from 2 surveys of homeless women (1 clinical and 1 nonclinical) and 1 survey of domiciled women. Results. The proportion of veterans (4.4%, 3.1%) among homeless women was greater than the proportion among domiciled women (1.3%, 1.2%). When we computed odds ratios for being a veteran among homeless women compared with nonhomeless women, homeless women were significantly more likely than nonhomeless women to be veterans. Conclusions. Women veterans are at greater risk for homelessness than are nonveterans. Further study is needed to determine whether increased risks for veterans are a product of military service or reflect volunteers’ self-selection into the armed forces. (Am J Public Health. 2003;93:1132–1136) The proportion of women in the active-duty US armed forces increased from 4% in 1983 1 to 12% in 2000, 2 and in 2000 women veterans comprised 5% of the total veteran population, a figure that is expected to double in the next 10 years. Data from a representative national sample indicated that women veterans averaged 14.1 years of education, approximately 46% were aged 35 to 49 years, 54% were currently married, 69% were non-Hispanic Whites, 47% had annual household incomes of less than $30 000, and 19% lived alone. 3 Although women veterans’ rates of sexual harassment while in the military are similar to national US norms, their rates of sexual assault are higher than those reported by the general female population. 3 Because the numbers of homeless women veterans are low compared with those of homeless male veterans (25%–40% of homeless men are veterans), research on homeless veterans usually excludes women. 4– 7 One study that did compare homeless women veterans with homeless male veterans found that women veterans were younger, less likely to be employed, and more likely to have a major mental illness. These women were also less likely to have a comorbid diagnosis of a mental illness and a substance abuse disorder. 8 However, this research used a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinical sample and did not compare women veterans with women nonveterans. In contrast to the literature on homeless male veterans, little published information concerns the representation of women veterans among homeless women, their risk of homelessness compared with that of nonveteran women, or their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics compared with those of other homeless women. Evidence on male veterans’ vulnerability to homelessness suggests that women veterans are more vulnerable to homelessness than women who have not served in the armed forces. Higher rates of sexual trauma than are found in the general population and the occurrence of duty-related and sexual stress in women veterans also suggest greater potential for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbidity of substance abuse associated with homelessness. 3, 9, 10 Notwithstanding these potential vulnerabilities, one could also make the case that because women veterans have more resources, such as education and access to veterans benefits, they should be more resilient to homelessness than their nonveteran counterparts. In this article we use data from 2 non-VA samples (1 clinical, 1 based on a community sample) of homeless women and a national sample of domiciled women to estimate the risk of homelessness among veterans compared with nonveterans. We also attempt to identify vulnerabilities that may be specific to homeless women veterans compared with homeless women nonveterans.
