Moderated Mediation in the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and the Effectiveness of Military Training for Reservists

Abstract

This study focuses on the evaluation of the moderating role of psychological resilience in intrinsic motivation. These causal relationships were evaluated in terms of self-efficacy and perceived military competence, taking into account the effects of intrinsic motivation and psychological resilience. Five hypotheses were developed on the effects of the theoretically supported variable relations. The study data set was collected from the Active Lithuanian Army Reserve. In this study, 354 soldiers were investigated using the Brief Resilience Scale (BRE), the Self-Efficacy Scale (EFF), the Intrinsic Motivation Scale (INM) and the Perceived Military Competence Scale (PMC). The results of the analysis conducted showed that between self-efficacy and the growth of perceived military competence is a positive relationship both for soldiers with high and low points of intrinsic motivation. In addition, it can be concluded that reservists with higher internal motivation have more confidence in their abilities to act and achieve the set goals, which can have a significant impact on reservists' readiness to improve their military competence. Similarly, self-efficacy appears to be vital in improving military competences among soldiers with less intrinsic motivation. Moreover, soldiers with higher intrinsic motivation and higher psychological resilience probably increase their military competence due to the pleasure they derive from participating in military exercises.