Military hardiness as a buffer of psychological health on return from deployment

Abstract

Military hardiness, the context-specific adaptation of psychological hardiness, is explored as it relates to military occupational stressors. It was hypothesized that military hardiness would moderate the effects of deployment stressors on soldier health. In a survey study of 629 U.S. soldiers, deployment stressors, military hardiness, and psychological and physical health were assessed during a peacekeeping deployment. Health was measured again after deployment. Results of moderated regression analyses partially supported the hypotheses; military hardiness moderated the impact of deployment stressors on depression after deployment, after controlling for depression during deployment. Implications for training military hardiness and applications to other occupational settings are discussed.