Roos Delahaij

Perceived Demands During Modern Military Operations

Using a cross-sectional design, this study explored operational demands during the International Security Assistance Force for Afghanistan (2009-2010) across distinct military units. A total of 1,413 Dutch soldiers, nested within four types of units (i.e., combat, combat support, service support, and command support units) filled out a 23-item self-survey in which they were asked to evaluate the extent to which they experienced operational characteristics as demanding. Exploratory factor analysis identified six underlying dimensions of demands. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that distinct units are characterized by their own unique constellation of perceived demands, even after controlling for previous deployment experience. Most notable findings were found when comparing combat units to other types of units. These insights can be used to better prepare different types of military units for deployment, and support them in the specific demands they face during deployment.

Team spirit makes the difference : The interactive effects of team work engagement and organizational constraints during a military operation on psychological outcomes afterwards

This article prospectively explores the effects of collective team work engagement and organizational constraints during military deployment on individual-level psychological outcomes afterwards. Participants were 971 Dutch peacekeepers within 93 teams who were deployed between the end of 2008 and beginning of 2010, for an average of 4 months, in the International Security Assistance Force. Surveys were administered 2 months into deployment and 6 months afterwards. Multi-level regression analyses demonstrated that team work engagement during deployment moderated the relation between organizational constraints and post-deployment fatigue symptoms. Team members reported less fatigue symptoms after deployment if they were part of highly engaged teams during deployment, particularly when concerns about organizational constraints during deployment were high. In contrast, low team work engagement was related to more fatigue symptoms, particularly when concerns about organizational constraints were high. Contrary to expectations, no effects for team work engagement or organizational constraints were found for post-traumatic growth. The present study highlights that investing in team work engagement is important for those working in highly demanding jobs.

Hardiness differentiates military trainees on behavioural persistence and physical performance

Hardiness is a personality trait that drafts courage and motivation during adversity. Research showed that hardiness differentiates elite athletes from their lower rank competitors. In the domain of sport psychology, hardiness also strongly predicts physical performance. Because the military occupation requires resilience and excellence in physical performance, researchers investigated hardiness and behavioural persistence during training. However, in those studies, hardiness’ impact was weak. Besides, military researchers seldom addressed hardiness’ effect on physical performance. We investigated the influence of hardiness on behavioural persistence and physical performance during the military basic training. Participants were 233 trainees involved in a 22-week long basic training. They completed hardiness measures at the beginning of the training and then, two months later, we registered who stayed involved and who had dropped out. The remaining trainees participated in a self-defence exercise and their trainers evaluated their performance. Our analysis indicated that hardiness significantly predicted behavioural persistence: the trainees still involved in the training after two months scored significantly higher on the hardiness scale than those who dropped out (EXP(B) = 1.08; p < .05). Our results however confirm that hardiness has a weak direct effect on persistence of military trainees. During the self-defence exercise, hardiness positively predicted physical performance ( = 9.87; p < .05). We discuss the possible relation of hardiness with other major persistence predictors in the military, such as health, health practices, and social support. Our study is the first to indicate a strong relationship between hardiness and soldiers’ physical performance.