Resilience as a Protective Factor in Basic Military Training, a Longitudinal Study of the Swiss Armed Forces

Abstract

For recruits, basic military training (BMT) can be experienced as a stressful episode in which relevant protective factors such as resilience might be essential for successful completion of the training. The present study examined whether resilience would act as a protective factor during BMT in the Swiss Armed Forces. To this end, we conducted a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of resilience and psychological burden. At the beginning of the BMT and at week 11, 525 male recruits (mean age: 20.3 years) completed a series of questionnaires covering demographic information and assessing resilience, perceived stress and mental distress. In parallel, their superiors rated recruits’ military performance in week 13. Dropout rates were also registered. Cross-sectionally and longitudinally, higher resilience scores predicted lower scores for perceived stress, mental distress, and better military performance. Higher self-rated resilience was moderately associated with military performance, as rated by recruits’ superiors. Resilience scores, perceived stress and mental distress did not differ between those recruits continuing their BMT and dropouts. In support of our assumptions, resilience acted as a protective factor during Swiss Armed Forces BMT.

Positive Psychology in Times of Pandemic—Time Perspective as a Moderator of the Relationship between Resilience and Meaning in Life

“…Many studies have confirmed associations between resilience and such personality traits as openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness and a negative link with neuroticism [26]. Many recent studies worldwide have investigated resilience as a protective factor in individuals particularly at risk of psychological distress and developing depression and anxiety symptoms (e.g., in the military, hospital staff) [27], as well as the role of resilience and meaning in life in dealing with the COVID-19 related stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety, panic, and behavioral disorders in daily life [22,28].…”

Transformational Leadership, Achievement Motivation, and Perceived Stress in Basic Military Training: A Longitudinal Study of Swiss Armed Forces

“…The procedure and the study design have been extensively described elsewhere [58]. Briefly, we performed the study during autumn 2011 and spring 2012; we approached recruits attending the Swiss Armed Forces Infantry School of Aarau (Switzerland) during their BMT (duration: 21 weeks) and asked them to participate in the present online-run study on the longitudinal relation between leadership style (transformational; transactional; laissez-faire) and psychological variables such as achievement motivation, OCB, and perceived stress.…”

“…As described previously [58], the inclusion criteria for the present study were: male sex; compliance with the study conditions, specifically, being willing and able to complete questionnaires in German; signed written informed consent. Exclusion criteria were: clicking through the items either only on the right or left side within a time lapse of some minutes, resulting in a standard deviation of zero on questionnaires with reverse-scored items (called "click-throughs").…”

Time in Service and Resilience in Active Military Personnel during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Northern Peru

“…In addition, previous studies that have described our association of interest have some methodological limitations, such as small sample size [ 36 ], the non-inclusion of service time rendered by military personnel to their institution [ 36 ] and selection bias [ 39 ]. The development of resilience through years of service has been previously demonstrated in the military population during the pre-pandemic period [ 36 ], and suggested as a protective factor against PTSD [ 37 , 38 ].…”