Hardiness, leadership style and gender as predictors of leader performance in military academy cadets.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is widely considered the premier leader development institution in the United States. Since first admitting women in 1976, few studies have examined factors that may influence female cadets to perform as leaders in this environment. The present study analyzed archival data collected during a unique longitudinal study of leader development conducted at West Point during the years 1993-2000, the Baseline Officer Leader Development Study (BOLDS). Personality hardiness, transformational and transactional leadership styles were evaluated as potential predictors of performance as leaders, according to supervisor ratings. Regression results showed that female cadets excel as leaders, outperforming male cadets as a group. Hardiness and transformational leadership style predicted leader performance for both male and female cadets. Additional analyses indicated it is the transformational leadership element of "charismatic" (or idealized influence) leadership that accounts for this finding. The transactional component "management by exception-active" also predicted leader performance, but for male cadets only. This study confirms that hardiness and charismatic leadership style are important for leadership performance of both male and female cadets. For male cadets, leader performance was also tied to actively identifying and addressing failures in subordinates. Leader development programs for both men and women may thus be enhanced by including programs to develop personality hardiness and transformational leadership qualities.

Stress, hardiness and eating disorder symptoms in military academy cadets.

Eating disorders are a persistent and debilitating problem, especially among college age men and women. This problem is exacerbated in occupations such as the military, where maintenance of strict standards regarding weight, fitness and appearance is important for job retention and promotion. Also, previous research confirms that stress is a contributing element to eating disorders. It is thus important to identify factors that may assist individuals to remain resilient and avoid stress-related health and eating difficulties. The present study utilizes historical data to examine the impact of stress on health and eating disorder symptoms in a representative sample of West Point military academy cadets, while testing the role of gender and hardiness as stress moderators in this relation. A survey containing measures of stress, hardiness and eating disorders symptoms was completed by 387 cadets in the fall and spring of 2000-2001. Moderation effects were tested with advanced conditional process analysis procedures developed recently by Hayes (2022). Results show that hardiness was a significant moderator, with cadets low in hardiness showing increased eating disorder symptoms and more general health symptoms. While gender was not a significant moderator with respect to eating disorder symptoms, it was significant for general health symptoms; female cadets showed more stress-related health symptoms than their male counterparts. These results suggest that eating disorder symptoms in military academy cadets and college students more generally may be reduced through programs aimed at developing hardiness attitudes and stress coping approaches.

Sex differences in hardiness, coping, and health in new West Point cadets.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point places young men and women in a highly demanding world of extreme mental and physical challenges. As such, it provides an excellent natural laboratory in which to study how people respond and adapt to highly stressful conditions. The present study explores the role of personality hardiness and coping as stress resilience resources in new (freshmen) cadets at West Point, while also considering sex differences. Using survey methods, N = 234 cadets were assessed during their first year at West Point. Measures included personality hardiness, coping strategies, health symptoms, and number of hospitalizations for all causes. Results show that female cadets are higher in hardiness and emotion-focused coping, as well as somewhat higher in symptoms reports. For the total group, hardiness is linked to better health, both in terms of symptoms reports and hospitalizations. Multiple regression results indicate symptoms are predicted by lower hardiness, higher avoidance coping, and female sex. Conditional process path analysis reveals that the effect of hardiness on symptoms is mediated by emotion-focused coping, and that emotion-focused coping can have both positive and negative effects. This study confirms hardiness is an important stress resilience resource for both men and women in the highly stressful first year at West Point. These findings lend further support to a growing body of evidence that hardiness influences health in part via the coping strategies that people choose to apply in dealing with stressful situations.

Risk Factors for Complicated Grief in the Military Community.

Death, grief, and loss have always been a part of the military community. Historically, research on grief in the military has focused on the impact of combat operations and deployment separations on the grief experience of service members and loved ones. However, as the transient nature of military life and the dangers of military service exist outside of combat operations and military deployments, it is important to examine how grief may impact the military community in times of peace as well as war. The purpose of this commentary is to discuss the components of the military community that place its members at a higher risk of experiencing complicated grief.

Resilience to Hazardous Drinking Among Never-Deployed Male United States Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers.

BACKGROUND: Negative emotions related to never having been deployed to active duty are associated with an increased risk of hazardous drinking among United States Army Reserve/National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers. Resiliency factors are known to buffer the effects of combat on hazardous drinking among service members who have been deployed, but it is not known whether these factors are protective for never-deployed service members, or which domains of hazardous drinking might be affected. Therefore, we examined the effects of a range of resiliency factors (i.e., marital satisfaction, psychological hardiness, intrinsic religiosity) on the relation between nondeployment emotions (NDE) and domains of hazardous drinking. METHODS: We drew a subset of data from Operation: Soldiers and Families Excelling Through the Years (N = 112 never-deployed male soldiers), an ongoing study of USAR/NG soldiers. Regression models examined the main effects of NDE on each of the domains of hazardous drinking (i.e., total Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT] score, consumption subscale, dependence subscale, alcohol-related problems subscale) and effect modification of each of the resiliency factors on the relations between NDE and the domains of hazardous drinking, separately. Final models controlled for years of military service, rank (enlisted vs. officer), number of military friends in the social network, and depression. RESULTS: Greater NDE were associated with a higher total AUDIT score, alcohol consumption, and alcohol dependence (ps < 0.05), but not alcohol-related problems (p > 0.05). Marital satisfaction and psychological hardiness buffered the effects of NDE on total AUDIT score and alcohol dependence (p < 0.05). Intrinsic religiosity only modified the effect of NDE on total AUDIT score. None of the resiliency factors modified the effects of NDE on alcohol consumption or alcohol-related problems. CONCLUSIONS: Soldiers with greater NDE had a greater risk of hazardous drinking in the presence of low resilience. Interventions to promote resiliency are an important consideration for protecting USAR/NG soldiers from hazardous drinking, regardless of their deployment history.

Resilience to mental health problems and the role of deployment status among U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers.

PURPOSE: Research suggests that interpersonal and intrapersonal resiliency factors protect against poor post-deployment mental health outcomes among Reserve/Guard soldiers who have been deployed. There is increasing awareness that never-deployed soldiers are also at risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between resiliency factors and a range of mental health outcomes among a sample of United States Army Reserve and National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers who have and have not experienced deployment. METHODS: A subset of data was drawn from Operation: SAFETY (N = 360), an ongoing study examining the health and well-being of USAR/NG soldiers. We used a multivariate path analysis approach to examine the simultaneous effects of unit support, marital satisfaction, and psychological hardiness on the following mental health outcomes, concurrently: anger, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. We also examined interaction effects between resiliency factors and deployment status on mental health outcomes. RESULTS: Greater unit support (ps < 0.01), marital satisfaction (ps < 0.001), and psychological hardiness (ps < 0.001) were associated with less anger, anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptomatology. Psychological hardiness had significant interactions with deployment status on anxiety, depression, and PTSD, such that the protective effects of psychological hardiness were even stronger among never-deployed soldiers than previously deployed solders. CONCLUSION: Resiliency factors can be targeted for intervention to prevent poor mental health outcomes among USAR/NG soldiers, regardless of deployment status. Further, psychological hardiness may be an even more important protective factor among soldiers who have never been deployed.

Coping with recruiter stress: Hardiness, performance and well-being in US Army recruiters.

Recruiting for military service can be a highly stressful job, but it is one that is essential for success in the all-volunteer force. Military recruiters face a number of job stressors, including pressure to meet monthly production quotas, long work hours and time away from family. They also work in relative isolation, with limited work social support networks. These factors make recruiters vulnerable to burnout and early attrition. The present study examines psychological hardiness and active, problem focused coping as potential stress resilience resources in US Army recruiters. In a stratified random sample of N = 817 recruiters, hardiness was found to predict supervisor-rated performance and psychological well-being. Hardiness also interacted with problem focused coping to predict psychological well-being, suggesting a mediating role for coping. These results can be applied to help improve policy for selecting and training military recruiters.

Peer Support Services for Bereaved Survivors: A Systematic Review.

This systematic literature review assesses the evidence regarding benefits of peer support services for bereaved survivors of sudden or unexpected death. Reports were included that addressed peer support services for adults who experienced death of a family member, close friend, or coworker. Of the 32 studies meeting all inclusion criteria, most showed evidence that peer support was helpful to bereaved survivors, reducing grief symptoms and increasing well-being and personal growth. Studies also showed benefits to providers of peer support, including increased personal growth and positive meaning in life. Several studies addressed the growing trend of Internet-based peer support programs, finding that these are beneficial in part due to their easy accessibility. Peer support appears to be especially valuable for survivors of suicide loss, a result that may be related to stigma and lack of support from family and friends experienced by many suicide survivors. The reviewed studies provide consistent evidence that peer support is beneficial to bereaved survivors.

Reliability and validity of the Korean version of the 15-item Dispositional Resilience Scale.

This study assessed the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the 15-item Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS-15) in a sample of Korean adults. In a baseline study conducted in June 2015, the DRS-15, Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), and Korean Resilience Questionnaire-53 (KRQ-53) were administered to 409 Korean adults aged 20-79 years. A 1-year follow-up study was conducted in June 2016, and the CES-D was administered to assess predictive validity. Confirmatory factor analysis identified three dimensions for the DRS-15: commitment, control, and challenge (χ2/df = 2.32, GFI = .90, AGFI = .88, RMR = .04, TLI = .91, NFI = .89, and RMSEA = .05), and concurrent and predictive validity were demonstrated via the CES-D and KRQ-53. Furthermore, the DRS-15 established known-group validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for internal consistency reliability of the three subscales ranged from .75 to .83. Three-week test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from .80 to .81. The KDRS-15 showed satisfactory construct and criterion validity and internal consistency.

Exploration into best practices in peer support for bereaved survivors.

This exploratory, qualitative study addresses the question: what are the important elements in effective peer support programs for bereaved survivors? Interviews with 10 highly experienced experts were analyzed to identify recurrent themes and elements. Findings indicate that effective peer support programs for the bereaved should be: easily accessible; confidential; provide a safe environment; use peer supporters with similar shared experiences to clients; select peer supporters carefully; partner with professional mental health providers; train peer supporters thoroughly; and provide care and monitoring for peer supporters. These results can help inform efforts to improve peer support programs for bereaved survivors.

Psychological hardiness predicts cardiovascular health.

Many, but not all people experience diminished health, performance and well-being as a function of exposure to stress. However, the underlying neurophysiological processes which characterize hardy or resilient people are not well understood. This study examines psychological hardiness and several indicators of cardiovascular health, including body mass index (BMI) and blood cholesterol markers in a sample of 338 middle-aged adults enrolled in a national security education program. Hierarchical regression analyses reveal that after controlling for the influence of age and sex, high hardiness is related to higher HDL - high density lipoprotein and less body fat (BMI). Lower hardiness is associated with greater total cholesterol to HDL ratio, a cardiovascular disease risk factor. These results suggest that psychological hardiness confers resilience in part through an influence on cholesterol production and metabolism.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Clusters and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings From a U.S. Nationally Representative Sample.

Associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) have not been extensively studied in nonveteran samples. Secondary analysis was conducted using a nationally representative U.S. sample and limited to those who reported being in a relationship in the past year (N = 25,652). This sample was mostly White (72.0%), the majority had completed high school/ general educational development (GED; 87.8%), about half were female (49.2%), and the mean age was 46.44 years (SD = 15.92). We hypothesized that a diagnosis of PTSD in the past year would be associated with greater perpetration of IPV and that the arousal/reactivity and intrusion symptom clusters would evidence the strongest associations with IPV. Consistent with expectations, a PTSD diagnosis in the past year was associated with greater perpetration of IPV, OR = 2.07, 95% CI [1.89, 2.26]. Among those with a PTSD diagnosis in the past year (n = 1,742), arousal/reactivity symptom cluster scores were associated with greater perpetration of IPV for both men and women, AOR = 1.27, 95% CI [1.11, 1.44]; intrusion symptom cluster scores were associated with perpetration of IPV for men only, AOR = 1.56, 95% CI [1.20, 2.04]; whereas negative cognitions/mood symptom cluster scores were only significant among women, AOR = 1.12, 95% CI [1.01, 1.24]. Results suggested that theoretical and empirical work linking PTSD and perpetration of IPV in military samples extends to the general population.

Psychological hardiness predicts neuroimmunological responses to stress.

Psychological hardiness characterizes people who remain healthy under psychosocial stress. The present exploratory study investigates possible links between hardiness and several immune and neuroendocrine markers: IL-6, IL-12, IL-4, IL-10, & neuropeptide-Y. A total of 21 Norwegian navy cadets were studied in the context of a highly stressful military field exercise. Blood samples were collected midway, and again late in the exercise when stress levels were highest. Psychological hardiness (including commitment, control, and challenge) was measured two days before the exercise. While all subjects scored high in hardiness, some were high only in commitment and control, but relatively low in challenge. These "unbalanced" hardiness subjects were also more stress reactive, showing suppressed proinflammatory cytokines (IL-12), increased anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10), and lower neuropeptide-Y levels as compared to the hardiness-balanced group. This study thus shows that being high in hardiness with a balanced profile is linked to more moderate and healthy immune and neuroendocrine responses to stress.

A new taxonomy for understanding factors leading to suicide in the military.

In the years since 2005, suicides among U.S. military personnel have risen dramatically, and continue to rise despite significant leadership attention to suicide awareness and prevention. Prevention efforts have proven unsuccessful, perhaps because they have focused on associated factors, rather than the underlying more fundamental contributing ones. Current suicide prevention and education programs in the military address the symptoms, while ignoring the underlying problem. This paper presents a new taxonomy for organizing and thinking about the multitude of factors associated with suicide in the military. We distinguish four sets of factors associated with suicide: (1) Formative factors are the long-term, fundamental causative factors in suicide, contributing to alienation and powerlessness; (2) Background factors are associated with suicide, but are not clearly causative, as for example age and sex; (3) Precipitating factors are the near-term causative factors, acute stressful events that can plunge the individual into sudden despair, such as a broken marriage; (4) Enabling factors are those that facilitate the act of suicide, but are not underlying causes. This includes for example alcohol and drugs, and easy access to weapons. To succeed, efforts to prevent suicide in the military should be directed to the formative factors. A model is presented in which military-specific formative factors are shown to contribute to alienation and powerlessness, key factors that can lead to suicide. Drawing from the hardiness model of resilience, some recommendations are provided for building up the sense of commitment (vs. alienation) and control (vs. powerlessness) in military personnel as a strategy for reducing suicide.

Psychological hardiness and coping style as risk/resilience factors for alcohol abuse.

Alcohol abuse is a growing problem in the military, and a costly one. The present study evaluates the potential role of psychological hardiness, an individual resilience resource, to stress-related problem drinking in a military population. We assess the association of psychological hardiness and avoidance coping style with alcohol use patterns in a large national sample of Norwegian military defense personnel. Results show that low hardiness and high avoidance coping are significant predictors of alcohol abuse. Also, the challenge facet of hardiness predicts risk of alcohol abuse among respondents with recent deployment experience, and this effect is greater for those with harsh deployment experiences. Older defense workers are also at higher risk, suggesting cumulative occupational stress may take a toll. This research indicates that hardiness and avoidance coping measures may serve as useful adjunct screening tools for alcohol abuse in the military.

Development and validation of the Italian version of the 15-item dispositional resilience scale.

Studies have shown that psychological hardiness is an important stress resilience resource for individuals. The 15-items Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS-15) is a short, reliable and valid self-report instrument to measure hardiness that is not available in Italian. The present study was undertaken to create an Italian version of the DRS-15, and evaluate its psychometric properties and validity in the Italian context. An Italian version was produced using multiple independent bilingual translators. This version was administered to a non-clinical sample of adults (N=150), along with measure o psychological well-being (PWB-18) and health. A sub-sample (N = 66) completed the DRS-15 again one month later. Results showed good reliability in terms of internal consistency and test-retest stability. With regard to the subscale, stability was high for all three subscales, whereas two subscales (Commitment and Control) showed marginal internal consistency. DRS-15 total and subscales scores showed a theoretically meaningful pattern of correlations with PWB-18 subscales, supporting the validity of the Italian DRS. Also, multiple regression analysis revealed a correlation between DRS-15 scores and self-rated general health, even after controlling for age and sex. The new Italian DRS-15 provides a valid, reliable and easy to use tool fr assessing stress resilience in clinical and research settings.

Hardiness and Burnout in Adult U.S. Workers.

OBJECTIVE: Burnout is a costly problem, and it appears to be getting worse due to COVID-related stressors. It is thus important for organizations to find better tools to prevent and mitigate worker burnout. METHODS: Conditional PROCESS path analysis was used to assess the relation of hardiness to burnout in a representative sample of U.S. workers, with sex and age as potential moderators. RESULTS: Hardiness is associated with reduced burnout symptoms. Sex did not moderate this relation. A moderating effect for age was observed, with more burnout appearing in younger, less hardy workers. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest hardiness operates similarly for men and women as a buffer against burnout, and that older workers are less vulnerable to burnout. Training programs to increase stress appraisals and coping skills used by more experienced, hardy workers may be beneficial in reducing burnout.

Hardiness moderates the effects of COVID-19 stress on anxiety and depression.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to sharp increases in mental health problems around the world, most notably in anxiety and depression. The present study examines hardiness and age as potential protective factors against the mental health effects of COVID-related stress. A sample of Canadians balanced across age and gender, completed an online survey including measures of COVID related stressors, hardiness, depression, and anxiety, along with age, gender, and other demographics. Conditional PROCESS analysis showed that COVID stressors led to significant increases in anxiety and depression. Hardiness moderated these relations, with those high in hardiness showing less anxiety and depression. Age was negatively related to anxiety and depression, with highest levels observed among the younger respondents. At the same time, a moderating effect of age was found with respect to depression, with older people showing sharper increases in depression as COVID-related stress goes up. Gender was not a significant factor in any of these relations, meaning that the results apply equally well to both women and men. This study provides evidence that younger people who are also low in hardiness are most vulnerable to developing anxiety and depression while under COVID stress, and so would likely benefit from preventive intervention strategies. While anxiety and depression symptoms are highest among the young, older age groups appear more vulnerable to increasing rates of depression symptoms related to COVID stress. Clinicians and practitioners should thus be especially vigilant for COVID related increases in depression among older people, and those low in psychological hardiness.

Building a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive drivers of performance under pressure: An international multi-panel Delphi study.

Introduction: The ability to perform optimally under pressure is critical across many occupations, including the military, first responders, and competitive sport. Despite recognition that such performance depends on a range of cognitive factors, how common these factors are across performance domains remains unclear. The current study sought to integrate existing knowledge in the performance field in the form of a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive mechanisms that underlie performance under pressure. Methods: International experts were recruited from four performance domains [(i) Defense; (ii) Competitive Sport; (iii) Civilian High-stakes; and (iv) Performance Neuroscience]. Experts rated constructs from the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework (and several expert-suggested constructs) across successive rounds, until all constructs reached consensus for inclusion or were eliminated. Finally, included constructs were ranked for their relative importance. Results: Sixty-eight experts completed the first Delphi round, with 94% of experts retained by the end of the Delphi process. The following 10 constructs reached consensus across all four panels (in order of overall ranking): (1) Attention; (2) Cognitive Control-Performance Monitoring; (3) Arousal and Regulatory Systems-Arousal; (4) Cognitive Control-Goal Selection, Updating, Representation, and Maintenance; (5) Cognitive Control-Response Selection and Inhibition/Suppression; (6) Working memory-Flexible Updating; (7) Working memory-Active Maintenance; (8) Perception and Understanding of Self-Self-knowledge; (9) Working memory-Interference Control, and (10) Expert-suggested-Shifting. Discussion: Our results identify a set of transdisciplinary neuroscience-informed constructs, validated through expert consensus. This expert consensus is critical to standardizing cognitive assessment and informing mechanism-targeted interventions in the broader field of human performance optimization.

Hardiness Predicts Post-Traumatic Growth and Well-Being in Severely Wounded Servicemen and Their Spouses.

INTRODUCTION: Thousands of military personnel have suffered severe wounds and traumatic amputations in recent overseas conflicts. They face multiple surgeries and long, painful rehabilitation. Despite the tremendous stress for these servicemen and families, many appear to cope quite well and even thrive despite their devastating wounds. Hardiness is a world view or mindset marked by high levels of commitment and engagement in the world, a strong sense of control, and the tendency to see change as a challenge and opportunity to learn and improve. Previous research has shown that military personnel high in hardiness are at lower risk for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other psychiatric symptoms following combat exposure. This study evaluated the impact of personality hardiness on post-traumatic growth (PTG) and psychological well-being in severely wounded service members and their spouses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male volunteers were surveyed while in hospital for severe battle wounds including loss of limbs. All were married, and all spouses also agreed to participate. Participants (N = 44) completed measures of hardiness, PTG, well-being, and neuroticism, and answered a question regarding potential benefits of their experience. RESULTS: Hierarchical multiple regression showed that hardiness significantly predicted both PTG and well-being, while controlling for age, education, family income, and neuroticism. Both service members and spouses indicated they experienced benefits in the following areas: strengthened family ties and connections; greater appreciation for and perspective on life; new career and educational opportunities; stronger, more resilient as a person; and formed new relationships, friends, and connections. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that seriously wounded military members and their spouses who are high in hardiness are more likely to experience PTG and psychological well-being following extremely stressful experiences. Hardiness entails positive reframing of negative experiences as opportunities and challenges to overcome, and taking action to solve problems. Training programs to increase hardiness attitudes and related coping skills may thus be beneficial in facilitating healthy adaptation for severely injured patients.