Stressors, Personal Resources, and Social Supports in Military Performance During Wartime

Abstract

Self-report measures of combat stressors, stress reactions, personal resources, and social supports were obtained from 48 Israeli combat veterans, each from a different military unit. These retrospective reports referred to military service in Lebanon during two time periods: (a) the initial invasion, characterized by high levels of combat stressors and high levels of endorsement of the official goals of the war; and (b) the subsequent holding operation, characterized by low levels of both. As predicted, soldiers reported a decline from the first period to the second in intensity of combat stressors, endorsement of goals, and frequency of stress reactions. There were also declines in military unit morale and primary loyalty to the unit, but unit cohesiveness, motivation to serve, and military performance remained unchanged. Regression analyses showed that military performance was strongly associated with unit cohesiveness, primary loyalty to one's unit, and motivation to serve, and was unrelated to intens...