This study is a construct validation of a profession-focused personality questionnaire (PQ), based on the Big Five, and developed for a military population and military context. The sample (N = 363) consisted of participants selected for international services in the Swedish Armed Forces. The structure of the PQ was modeled by means of confirmatory factor analysis, and its convergent validity was tested against the Five Factor Personality Inventory (FFPI) ( Hendricks, Hofstee, & de Raad, 1999 , 2000 ) and the Single-Item Measures of Personality (SIMP) ( Woods & Hampson, 2005 ) as correlations. The emergent structure of the PQ – 41 items and 7 aspects – showed good internal consistency and acceptable convergent validity with both criterion instruments. The only nonconvergence was found between the Agreeableness aspect of the PQ, Concern for Others, and Agreeableness of the SIMP, most likely because of the broader SIMP factor. The structure of PQ was tested on a new sample (N = 274) and was found stable regarding the factor loadings and the relations between the factors. While the PQ needs to be investigated further, it seems as if it may become a useful tool in the research of military teams and contexts.
This study investigated whether ‘re‐usable’ soldiers, that is, those who performed well during operations (military capacity), and were able to readjust postdeployment (civil adjustment), could be identified at predeployment. Participants were 364 UN peacekeeping soldiers. Three hypotheses were posed: the selection system for conscripts cannot identify soldiers with low military capacity (H: 1); the selection system for conscripts cannot identify soldiers with poor civil adjustment after deployment (H: 2); and the two aspects of ‘re‐usability’ (military capacity and civil adjustment) would be intertwined (H: 3). Results showed that the selection system for conscripts was unable to identify soldiers' military capacity and civil adjustment. Results also showed that these two aspects were unrelated, and did not interact. Indications on possible consequences and improvements are discussed.
The aim of this study was to explore: (1) how the psychological health of the members of the first European Union Naval Force (ME01) was affected by international deployment off the coast of Somalia; and (2) if and how organizational and personal factors (e.g., type of personnel category, previous experiences, and resilience) affected their psychological health and well-being post-deployment. The study had an exploratory longitudinal design, where the participants were assessed both before and after deployment (i.e., T1 and T2). The participants (n = 129, 120 men, 9 women) were equally distributed between officers (n = 68; 64 men, 4 women) and sailors (n = 61; 56 men, 5 women). The members' average age was 31 years, ranging from 20 to 61. For the majority (78%) ME01 was their first international deployment and officers were, in general, more experienced than sailors. The overall results showed that the members' reported a positive experience with improved resilience and well-being (e.g., sense of coherence). However, the result also showed that type of personnel category (i.e., officer or sailor) affected their psychological health. Why and how these differences among military personnel arise is discussed, but deserves further attention.
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