Morale and its Components: A Cross‐National Comparison

Abstract

Two U.S. Army armored cavalry squadrons (N= 660), one in Europe (USAREUR), stationed on the East German border, and one in the continental U.S. (CONUS), were administered an English version of a questionnaire widely used in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to assess morale, cohesion and soldier perception of unit readiness for combat. Analysis of inter‐item correlations, including factor analyses, revealed a generally similar structure of morale in the U.S. units and a comparable IDF sample stationed along the Lebanon border (N= 1270). All three data sets were organized around a group factor, a leadership factor, and two individual factors, one personal and one professional. National differences were apparent with regard to the relationship between morale and perceived contribution to national security, confidence in weapons, and confidence in senior commanders. In several other respects the USAREUR unit resembled the IDF sample far more than it resembled its sister unit in the U.S. As a whole the data are consistent with the view that morale has relatively similar determinants across armies, but that both national characteristics and situational characteristics (e.g., proximity to a potential foe and/ or battlefield) play a role in the relative importance of these determinants. Copyright © 1987, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved