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Acción Psicológica
To assess the morale of the troops has been a concern of military leaders throughout history, mainly because of the level of involvement that this factor could have in the resolution of conflicts on the battlefield. The purpose of this research was to obtain evidence of the validity of the internal structure of the Morale Questionnaire used by the Spanish Armed Forces in military operations overseas. Two subsamples of 250 Spanish soldiers deployed on an international mission in Lebanon participated in the study. The questionnaire was applied at the beginning and at the end of the mission, respectly. The results obtained throughExploratory and Confirmatory Factorial Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling, allowed to assess the questionnaire statistically obtaining a tool that consists of 26 items, agglutinated in six factors. The theoretical dimensions of the original tool were mostly maintained. This will permit Spanish Armed Forces to have a reliable measuring instrument that...
Personality predicting military morale and the role of positive and negative affectivity
Current Issues in Personality Psychology
BackgroundMilitary morale is defined as the enthusiasm and persistence with which a member of the group engages in the pre-scribed activities of that group and is considered to be closely related to performance. The current study uses the conceptualization of military morale through the elements of work engagement and burnout. Nevertheless, our per-sonality traits, and how we interpret or react to our environment, including group atmosphere, may also be related to perception of morale alongside positive and negative affectivity. The article investigates the relations between per-ceptions of morale, personality traits (the Big Five) and positive or negative affectivity in a military context.Participants and procedureA sample of Estonian military conscripts (N = 354) from the soldiers’ basic military training course responded to the questionnaire. Three measures were used for data collection: a short personality questionnaire (40 items) for Big Five personality traits; the Positive an...
Social Science & Medicine, 1994
In this study we examined the relationship between cognitive ability and Negative Affectivity (NA) (measured as cognitive and behavioral aspects of anxiety) on the one hand, and somatic complaints, symptom attribution (i.e. subjective evaluation of psychological vs somatic symptom causes), perceived daily stress/mood, and disciplinary problems on the other hand, in a sample of military recruits. As expected, cognitive and behavioral anxiety correlated with measures of somatic complaints and with perceived stress/negative mood in the daily service, as well as with symptom attribution. General ability correlated negatively with three of the five somatic complaint scales as well as with presence of disciplinary problems after controlling for NA. However, the effect of the ability factor on these dependent variables was very weak and difficult to interpret. On the whole, cognitive ability does not seem to be an interesting variable in research on the NA-somatic complaints relationship, at least as conceptualized on the trait level. Thus, cognitive ability appears to be of less importance as an explanatory factor in theories of symptom perception and symptom attribution.
Psychological distress and coping in military cadre candidates
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 2016
Background: Soldiers must cope with stressors during both military operations and training if they are to accomplish their missions successfully and stay mentally stable. This holds true particularly for military superiors, as they bear greater responsibilities and must meet greater demands during both deployment and training. Accordingly, in the present study, we investigated whether recruits chosen for further promotion at the end of basic training differed with regard to psychological distress and coping strategies from those not chosen for promotion, and whether recruits' coping styles and distress levels were associated. Methods: A total of 675 Swiss recruits took part in the study. At the beginning of basic training, recruits filled out self-rating questionnaires covering demographic data, psychological distress (depression, somatization, anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and hostility), and coping styles. Results were compared between those recruits who received a recommendation for further promotion at the end of basic training and those who did not. Results: Recruits selected for promotion had lower scores for depressive symptoms and hostility, engaged more in active coping, and considered their coping to be more effective. Dysfunctional and functional coping were associated with higher and lower distress levels, respectively. Conclusion: Recruits recommended for promotion exhibited less psychological distress during basic training and exhibited a socially more conducive profile of distress. They also endorsed more efficient and more prosocial coping strategies than those recruits not recommended for promotion. These cognitive-emotional features not only contribute to resilience but are also consistent with leadership research, indicating the importance of emotional stability and prosocial behavior in successful leaders.
Military Medicine, 2012
U.S. military accession mental health screening includes cognitive testing and questions regarding the applicants' past mental health history. This process relies on applicants' knowledge of and willingness to disclose symptoms and conditions. Applicants have a strong incentive to appear qualified, which has resulted in a long history of frequent mental health conditions presenting during recruit training. Objective: To assess the predictive value of a preenlistment noncognitive temperament test score for risk of mental disorders and attrition in the first year of service. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on non-high school diploma U.S. Army active duty recruits who took the Assessment of Individual Motivation (AIM). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine associations between AIM score quintiles, mental disorders, and attrition. Results: AIM scorers in the lowest quintile were at increased risk for a mental disorder (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.35-1.53) and of discharge (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.44-1.68) compared to AIM scorers in the highest quintile, with significant linear trends for decreased risk with increasing AIM score. Conclusions: AIM offers the potential to improve screening of military applicants and reduce mental disorders and attrition in new recruits beyond the current process.
Factors associated with depression in navy recruits
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2002
The age of onset for depression is decreasing and seems to be linked with major life events. This study examined predisposing and concomitant factors related to Navy recruit basic training, and consisted of 443 recruits (200 with depressive symptoms and 243 matched comparison subjects). Two hypotheses were proposed, and both were supported by results of the study. Depressed recruits were more likely to be separated from the Navy and not complete training. They had significantly more predisposing factors than comparison recruits including family history of mental illness, family history of alcohol abuse, and history of psychiatric problems. They also had significantly more concomitant factors such as higher levels of stress, more loneliness, more life-change events, lower sense of belonging, more emotion-oriented coping, and less task-oriented coping. Although the study examined Navy recruits, the findings are applicable to depression in young people. This study adds to understanding the role of life stressors, interpersonal functioning, and development of depressive symptoms. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 58: 323–337, 2002.
Correlates and Consequences of Morale Versus Depression Under Stressful Conditions
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2007
The role of morale as a positive psychological construct distinct from the construct of depression was examined using data from a longitudinal study of 1,685 U.S. soldiers on a peacekeeping mission to Kosovo. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed morale was best predicted by indices of engagement in meaningful work and confidence in unit functioning and leadership, whereas depression was best predicted by deployment stressors and negative events. Morale assessed during the deployment was related to perceiving benefits from deploying six months later, whereas depression was related to posttraumatic stress disorder and negative perceptions of deploying. The relationship between morale and benefits was a function of engagement in meaningful work. Discussion focuses on the importance of longitudinal research in specifying the antecedents of positive and negative outcomes of a stressful work environment.
Personality and mental health: How related are they within the military context?
Military Psychology, 2007
The main purpose of this study was to examine the nature of the relationships between job-specific personality dimensions and psychological well-being for officers in the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). Turkish Armed Forces Personality Inventory (TAFPI) is a 19-dimension measure of personality used in officer selection in the TAF. In our previous research, four latent factors had been identified as underlying the TAFPI dimensions: Military Factor, Leadership, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion-Agreeableness. In the present study, the nature of the relationships between the TAFPI dimensions and the latent factor underlying a commonly used psychological screening test, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis, 1992), was examined on a sample of officers (N = 1111). Specifically, the 19 dimensions of the TAFPI first predicted a latent military personality factor, which, in turn, predicted the latent mental health factor. Results suggested that although the personality latent was predictive of the mental health factor, the amount of variance unexplained in mental health suggested that mental health assessment should not be dispensed in the presence of personality assessment in the selection of officers in the TAF. Attention given to individual differences variables, especially personality attributes, in a variety of human resources management applications has increased considerably over the last two decades. The five-factor model (FFM) of personality
Military Psychology, 2012
We evaluated the measurement properties of a new personality scale for use with military personnel in the French Navy (N = 1,266). Principal components analyses indicated that a five-factor hierarchical structure assessing emotional stability, ascendancy, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness described the underlying pattern of correlations among items. Each factor was comprised of two facets that included 7 items per facet for a total of 70 items. Reliability analyses indicate that the factors and corresponding facets were internally consistent and temporally stable. Validity analyses indicate that the TAMI-P was significantly correlated with comparable measures of personality-correlations ranged from .53 to .68 with the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and the Big Five Questionaire. We discuss the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of our findings for future research.
Developing a Measure to Assess Emotions Associated with Never Being Deployed
Military Medicine, 2018
Background: Much research has focused on stress related to deployments; however, a substantial proportion of soldiers never deploy. In a study of 1.3 million veterans, suicide risk was higher among veterans who had never deployed. Thus, not being deployed may have an impact on soldiers' well-being; however, no measures exist to assess emotions regarding non-deployment. We aimed to develop and test an original measure of non-deployment emotions. Methods: We examined the Non-Deployment Emotions (NDE) questionnaire, a novel four-item measure of guilt, unit value, unit camaraderie, and unit connectedness in a sample of never-deployed male and female US Army Reserve/National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers (N = 174). Data are from Operation: SAFETY (Soldiers and Families Excelling Through the Years), an ongoing survey-based study examining the health of USAR/NG soldiers and their partners. The protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The relationship between each of the items was examined by calculating correlation and alpha coefficients. Latent class analyses tested for the existence of distinct levels of negative emotions related to non-deployment. Negative binomial regression models examined the cross-sectional associations between NDE summary score and each of the following outcomes, separately: anger, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Findings: More than half of never-deployed USAR/NG soldiers expressed negative emotions for having not been deployed. "Guilt," "value," "camaraderie," and "connectedness" were each positively correlated with each other (p < 0.001) and the internal consistency reliability was high (male soldier α = 0.90, female soldier α = 0.93). Latent class analyses revealed a superior three-class model with well-delineated class membership (entropy = 0.93): "Class 1" (low NDE; 47.6%), "Class 2" (moderate NDE; 33.8%), and "Class 3" (high NDE; 18.6%). Regression models demonstrated that greater non-deployment emotions were independently associated with more severe anger (