Abstract
Multiple internal factors, such as psychological resilience and mental health status, have been shown to contribute to overall quality of life (QoL). However, very few studies to date have examined how these factors contribute to QoL of youth and young adults in a stressful situation. Here, we studied the contribution of these factors, as well as of ecological momentary mood assessment, to QoL of young army recruits during their Basic Training Combat (BCT). To this end, we collected data from 156 male and female soldiers in a mixed-gender unit in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Using a mobile app installed on participants' phones, participants provided self-reports regarding their mental health status and psychological resilience at baseline, and QoL 2 weeks later. Momentary mood reporting was further collected during the 2-week interval period using a daily self-report mood scale (IMS-12). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the interrelationships among the study variables based on a hypothesized model. We found that a model with all factors (gender, resilience, mental health status and momentary mood) provided a good fit for the data based on its fit indices [χ2(38) = 47.506, p = 0.139, CFI = 0.979, NFI = 0.910, RMSEA = 0.040, TLI = 0.964]. However, the only direct contributors to QoL were gender and momentary mood, accounting together for 61.5% of the variance of QoL. Psychological resilience and mental health status contributed to QoL only indirectly, through their associations with momentary mood. Collectively, these results highlight the importance of ecological momentary assessment of mental-health related factors such as mood to the prediction of QoL in young adults under stress. These findings may have broader implications for monitoring and improvement of well-being in young healthy populations as well as in clinical ones.
Highlights
Adolescence and early adulthood are among the most critical periods of human development, when the environment and physiological changes have significant impact on one’s life [1]
While the negative impact of stress on quality of life (QoL) has been well-documented in multiple adolescent populations, such as in those living in high threat environments [12, 13], in at-risk youth [14], in university students [15] and in college students [16], little is known about contributors to the QoL of newly recruited soldiers during their Basic Training Combat (BCT) in the army worldwide, as most studies examining QoL were conducted in veterans or in combat soldiers after their basic training phase [17, 18]
We examined the contribution of the intrinsic factors of psychological resilience, self-efficacy, mental health status and ecological momentary mood to QoL in a group of young adults during their BCT
Summary
Adolescence and early adulthood are among the most critical periods of human development, when the environment and physiological changes have significant impact on one’s life [1]. In Israel, most youth and young adults begin their mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the ages of 18–19 years [5], when the prevalence of stress-related disorders is high [6]. While the negative impact of stress on QoL has been well-documented in multiple adolescent populations, such as in those living in high threat environments [12, 13], in at-risk youth [14], in university students [15] and in college students [16], little is known about contributors to the QoL of newly recruited soldiers during their BCT in the army worldwide, as most studies examining QoL were conducted in veterans or in combat soldiers after their basic training phase [17, 18]
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