Managing stress in security operations: A prospective study on the indirect influence of psychological hardiness on mental distress through self-efficacy and worry
Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Kobasa's (1979) concept of psychological hardiness has previously been identified as an important resilience factor for development of mental health issues in response to environmental stressors in military contexts. Still, present hardiness research has yet to provide a precise understanding of how hardiness exerts its effect on mental health outcome. The present study represents an attempt to clarify the proposed association between psychological hardiness and mental health outcome by proposing self-efficacy and worry as mediator variables. A prospective cohort study followed 166 crewmembers deployed on naval vessels as part of NATO's counter piracy mission Operation Ocean Shield in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa, and obtained individual reports prior, during, and after the mission. The theoretical framework provided basis for a non-reciprocal path model that included hardiness as the independent variable, self-efficacy and worry as mediator variables, and mental distress (GHQ-12 and HSCL-25) as the dependent variable. It was hypothesised that hardiness would decrease reports of mental distress through hardiness' influence on self-efficacy, and increase reports of mental distress due to hardiness' effect on worry. Ultimately, the present study was unable to find an association between hardiness and mental distress, as well as to provide support for the proposed mediation model. The contradictory nature of the present findings gives reason to provide a thorough account of the key strengths and limitations of the present research design and sample, as well as attending to central criticisms from the past and directions for future hardiness research.
Author: Eli Kindervaag
Language: English
Topic: Resilience and Mental Health
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2346573110