Veterans Treatment Courts: An Exploratory Analysis of the Effect of Veteran Mentors

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/08874034231202763
• Author: T. Freeman Gerhardt,Melissa Carlson,Kathleen A. Moore,M. Scott Young
• Date: 01 December 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034231202763

Criminal Justice Policy Review

2023, Vol. 34(6) 581 –603

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/08874034231202763

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Article

Veterans Treatment Courts:

An Exploratory Analysis of

the Effect of Veteran Mentors

T. Freeman Gerhardt1, Melissa Carlson1,

Kathleen A. Moore1, and M. Scott Young1

Abstract

Few studies have investigated the effect of mentorship on participants’ clinical or

criminal justice outcomes in veterans treatment courts (VTCs). This study is an

exploratory analysis of a VTC in Hillsborough County, Florida. Descriptive and

inferential statistics were used to examine behavioral health changes between baseline

and follow-up and compare participants with/without a mentor. Post hoc analyses

explored the effect of mentorship on graduation and re-arrest rates. Participants

with a mentor had significant improvements in mental health, trauma, substance use,

and social support; and significantly higher levels of positive social interaction than

those without a mentor. Mentor status was not meaningfully related to graduation

and re-arrest rates in bivariate analyses, but post hoc analyses found that social

support mediated the relationship between mentor satisfaction and re-arrest and

graduation rates.

Keywords

veterans treatment courts, justice-involved veterans, problem-solving court, mentor

Introduction

Military veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use

disorders (SUDs) at significantly higher rates than the civilian population (Lan et al.,

2016; Teeters et al., 2017). Heightened rates of behavioral health issues represent a

1University of South Florida, Tampa, USA

Corresponding Author:

T. Freeman Gerhardt, doctoral candidate, Department of Mental Health Law, and Policy, College of

Behavioral and Community Sciences, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B Downs Boulevard,

MHC 2525B, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.

Email: gerhardt@usf.edu

1202763CJPXXX10.1177/08874034231202763Criminal Justice Policy ReviewGerhardt et al.

research-article2023

582 Criminal Justice Policy Review 34(6)

major public health and safety concern because veterans with behavioral health issues

are more likely to enter and recidivate into the criminal justice system (Blodgett et al.,

2015; McNiel et al., 2005; Weaver et al., 2013). For example, justice-involved veter-

ans have higher rates of PTSD and SUDs than other justice-involved populations and

are more likely to have violent criminal offenses linked to PTSD-related anger symp-

toms (Bronson et al., 2015; Finlay et al., 2015; Novaco & Chemtob, 2015).

Veterans are more at risk of arrest than their civilian counterparts due to a combina-

tion of deployment-related stressors (e.g., combat exposure and related injuries), other

job-related stressors (e.g., issues with privacy, separation from family, and drastic

environmental conditions), and adjustment/reintegration challenges (e.g., hostility/

anger issues, isolation, and substance misuse), which complicate their transition back

to civilian life and contribute to the development of PTSD and/or SUDs (Brooks &

Greenberg, 2018; Brown, 2008, 2011; Seal et al., 2011; Smith & True, 2014). PTSD

and SUDs are well-documented risk factors that increase the probability of criminal

justice system involvement (Elbogen et al., 2012; E. N. Taylor et al., 2020; Timko

et al., 2022). Therefore, the challenge is to engage veterans in treatment and restore

adaptive interpersonal functioning, which can be difficult given the stigma surround-

ing behavioral health treatment in the military (K. T. Lucas et al., 2022; Sharp et al.,

2015).

Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) represent an innovative approach to divert veter-

ans from criminal justice system involvement (Russell, 2009). Many VTCs include a

mentorship component in which other veterans support participants as they navigate

court and treatment requirements (Jalain & Grossi, 2020; Timko et al., 2017).

Qualitative research has highlighted the various roles that mentors have within VTCs

(Douds et al., 2021); however, it is unclear if mentors contribute to a reduction in

behavioral health symptoms or criminal justice involvement. The purpose of the cur-

rent study is to explore the effect of mentorship on behavioral health and criminal

justice outcomes.

Military Culture

Veterans face barriers to behavioral health treatment such as negative attitudes toward

treatment and stigma, which may be reflective of an underlying military culture

(Garcia et al., 2014). Veterans are prone to a military culture that values self-reliance,

norms, and beliefs that are distinct from the civilian purview (Meyer & Wynn, 2018;

Teeters et al., 2017). For example, killing is justified and often glamorized, while

expressions of guilt/shame are internalized to prevent perceptions of weakness or

treatment providers from pathologizing their behaviors (Brown et al., 2016). This mil-

itary culture may perpetuate distrust toward non-military treatment providers and pre-

vent veterans from seeking behavioral health treatment upon return to civilian life

(Timko et al., 2020). Military culture can also be a barrier that prevents veterans from

seeking behavioral health treatment from either the Department of Veteran Affairs

(VA) or other community-based providers. Military culture values teamwork, tough-

ness, and self-reliance (Ganz et al., 2021), and veterans may interpret seeking care as