DOI: https://doi.org/10.62204/2336-498X-2023-3-7

STRESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

IN FUTURE MILITARY PERSONNEL

Marie Dostálová,

Mgr. in Psychology, Bc. in Humanities,

Psychologist at the psychological clinic Boskovice, Czech Republic,

mariezapletalova147@seznam.cz; ORCID: 0009-0003-6960-3643

Annotation. The research deals with the issue of identifying stressful situations that appear during the introductory Training for the Army of the Czech Republic and strategies for managing them. The research is based on the use of the multidimensional self-observation inventory SVF 78, which more closely analyzes the variability of ways of processing and managing stressful situations in future military personnel and compares positive stress management strategies with the norms of the general population and aims to formulate recommendations for more effective help in coping with stress in the military area.

Keywords: professional soldier, workload, stress management strategy, Basic Training course of the Czech Armed Forces.

In the current tense geopolitical situation, effective stress management and coping strategies are one of the factors in preventing future psychological disorders among soldiers. Army psychologists provide professional help and advice to soldiers, civil and state employees of the Army of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Defense, their family members, war veterans in service and out of active service, their families, and coordinators of war veterans, as well as the general public [1]. The research  and practice of military psychology present many opportunities and challenges leading to the improvement of the understanding and prediction of human behavior, for the development of new methods of education and training in the conditions of a developed technological environment of war, and the improvement of the cooperation of people and technology in the military system.

Currently, there is an effort to use new and more comprehensive procedures for better functioning of military training. The preparation deals with several basic directions, in which we include psychological preparation concerning the increasing complexity of the situation in the army resulting from its professionalization and changes in tasks arising from the nature of modern combat, it also includes requirements for increasing the resistance of soldiers against physical and psychological stress in combat conditions, regulation and formation of the temperament, character, will, attitude and motivation of the soldier and, among other things, the preparation of soldiers for leaving the Czech Army combined with their reintegration into civilian life.

The function and task of a military psychologist are mainly to carry out psychological examinations, to carry out psychodiagnostic and psychotherapeutic work, to administer and process partial results of psychological examinations, to provide and ensure service to individual members of the battalion in their professional competence, to fulfil the goals and contents of the psychological training of the troops, to cooperate with military doctors and battalion chaplain and to prevent  socially undesirable phenomena. The time set aside for the psychological training of soldiers can be used to convey basic practical knowledge from psychology related to the psychology of military service, war or survival, or to questions related to forms of effective communication, strengthening group cohesion, problems with aggression or bullying. It is important to choose sociopsychological techniques appropriately, taking into account the target group, i.e. the specific military unit and its focus [2].

Basic Training course of the Army of the Czech Republic. The Basic Training course is an essential and unrepeatable experience in the career of a future soldier. The entire course is carried out in a continuous mode of military training, without the possibility of leaving the barracks. The Basic Training includes a theoretical part in classrooms, practical training on training grounds, preparation and maintenance of military equipment, movements in of the training area, preparation for military employment in the form of independent study and other activities. Military training is carried out with  considerable intensity so that everyone can assess their abilities when they are pushed to the limit performance  and thus strengthen their self-confidence and self-belief. During military employment, soldiers are exposed to increased physical and psychological stress situations [3].

The military profession entails a considerable burden of both short-term and longterm nature. Based on these data, it is desirable to prepare the participants of the Basic Training course for stress through training and education, which will have a positive effect on their psychological resistance. To establish an effective support system for coping with possible stress during the Basic Training, it is necessary to examine the circumstances that may bring about stress, investigate potential ways of coping with the stress, as well as identify those that appear in military recruits.

To achieve the desired security of the Army of the Czech Republic, it is necessary to add 2,400 new professional soldiers per year to cover retirements from active service and at the same time to produce a net year-on-year increase of approximately 800 professional soldiers. The priority is therefore to obtain the highest possible number of high-quality applicants for active service. Following this issue, the priority is to reduce the high dropout rate, which is almost 50% in the first two years of service, by setting up a support system for managing stress during the Basic Training course and within the service relationship [4]. Continuous acquisition and retention of qualified personnel are important in order to achieve the capabilities of the Army of the Czech Republic to fulfill tasks arising from the laws of the Czech Republic and securing the Czech Republic’s share in international obligations.

Research and research method SVF 78. The research was conducted in the classrooms of the Training Command of the Military Academy in Vyškov, which is a departmental educational and training facility of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic. The Military Academy Training Command covers the basic, professional, and special training of military professionals and members of the Active Reserve of the Czech Army. The Basic Training Course of the Czech Army is a demanding six-week course, where soldiers are exposed to stressful situations and stressful tasks most of the time. Soldiers, after successfully completing the course and taking the military oath, become professional soldiers who hold a risky profession associated with material and moral responsibility.

The authors of SVF 78 questionnaires are Janke and Erdmann, the author of the Czech translation is Švancara. The authors rely on Lazarus’ theory of stress based on the assumption that a certain individual’s stress processing strategies are so conscious and accessible to self-observation that we can inquire about them using verbal techniques. Using the SVF 78 questionnaire, it is therefore possible to analyze the variability of the ways that an individual applies when processing and managing stressful situations.

We experience stress as a change in the somatic and psychological state, which deviates us from our usual level of excitement in a certain period of time. Somatically, stress manifests itself in a change in the vegetative nervous system, on a psychological level there are changes in emotional experience, internal excitement or tension. The individual processes stress using psychological processes that occur in a planned or unplanned manner, consciously or unconsciously, without our control. The individual’s goal is to alleviate or end the experienced stress. We divide the methods of processing stress according to type, focus, function and effectiveness. Depending on the type, we distinguish between action methods aimed at action (strategy of attack, escape or inactivity) or intrapsychic methods based on cognitive processes such as perception, imagination, thinking and motivational-emotional states (strategies of diversion, denial or reevaluation of the stressor). Processing stress is the aspect of focus, our purposefulness of actions. We can differentiate based on finding out whether the method refers to the response to the load or the response to the load as such. We could then delineate the mode of processing as situation-oriented (focusing on the stressor) or response-oriented (focusing on the stressor). We can distinguish ways of reducing or increasing stress. However, the direction of action and the intensity of the experienced stress are limited in time. Some coping strategies lead to a temporary reduction of stress, but in the longterm increase stress (avoidance, downplaying). In general, we can assume that certain coping strategies reduce or increase stress in the vast majority of conditions. Action tendencies with the aim of alleviating or eliminating the stressor always reduce stress, on the contrary, resignation probably always maintains or increases stress. Coping skills are acquired by the individual to a large extent through the process of learning from model stressful situations, but also through learning by insight. Ways of processing stress can be described as a personality trait, as they are relatively stable over time and contain sufficient reliability that certain ways of responding will be repeated in an individual over a longer time horizon.

Description of the SVF 78 questionnaire subtests.

1. Underestimation – attributing less stress to oneself compared to others.
2. Denial of blame – emphasizing that it is not your responsibility.
3. Deviation – deviation from stressful activities/situations or leaning towards situations incompatible with stress.
4. Substitute gratification – turning to positive activities/situations.
5. Situation control – analyzing the situation, planning and carrying out actions to control and solve the problem.
6. Reaction control –ensuring or maintaining control of one’s reactions.
7. Positive self-instruction – attributing competence and ability to control oneself.
8. The need for social support – the desire to secure an interview, social support and help.
9. Avoidance – the resolution to avoid stressors.
10. Escape tendency – tendency (resignation) to get out of a stressful situation.
11. Perseverance – not being able to detach mentally, pondering for a long time.
12. Resignation – giving up with a feeling of helplessness, and hopelessness.
13. Self-blame – attributing burdens to one’s wrongdoing.

Based on individual subtests, we determine secondary values. For each proband, we obtain an overall positive strategy and a negative strategy. Positive strategies are assessed by the first seven subscales. The remaining four subscales assess negative strategies.

We divide positive strategies into three sub-strategies:

1. (POZ 1) Strategy of underestimation and devaluation of guilt – Strategies (subtests Underestimation and Denial of guilt) are characterized by an effort to reevaluate, reduce the severity of the stressor or reduce the experienced stress.
2. (POZ 2) Diversion strategy – Strategies (subtests Diversion and Substitute Satisfaction) are characterized by a tendency to choose a deviation from a stressful event and/or a preference for alternative activities or situations.
3. (POZ 3) Control strategies – Strategies (subtests Situation control, Reaction control and Positive self-instruction) are characterized by a constructive effort to manage, have control and competence.

Rarely occurring strategies (Need for social support and Avoidance subtests) – Specific strategies that do not apply to either positive or negative strategies. When evaluating, individual interpretation and consideration of the context within all other strategies is necessary.

(NEG) Negative strategies (subtests Escape Tendency, Perseverance, Resignation, and Self-Blame) are characterized by the tendency to use ineffective stress-increasing processing methods. The use of these strategies points to the absence of competence to subjectively manage a stressful situation, choose escape tendencies, resignation or the inability to relax [5].

Based on Czech and foreign research, the following research questions were determined:

• RQ1: What are the strategies for coping with stress in the Basic Preparation course of the Czech Army for military personnel?
• RQ2: Can we find differences between the stress management strategies of military personnel of the Czech Army and general population?

Methodology. A comparison of strategy scores by gender was performed using Welch’s  t-test. A comparison of the research set’s strategy scores with the population means was performed using a one-sample t-test. Population means were taken from the SVF 78 standardized questionnaire evaluation manual. Means, standard deviations, and p-values were reported. Calculations were performed using the TIBCO STATISTICA program.

Men from the research group most often used the strategies of positive selfinstruction, control of the situation, control of reactions and overall POZ3 (control of the situation, control of reactions and positive self-instruction). The least used negative strategies were resignation, escape tendency and the more frequently occurring strategies of self-blame and perseveration.

The women from the research group most often used the strategies of positive selfinstruction, control of the situation, control of reactions and overall POZ3 (control of the situation, control of reactions and positive self-instruction). The least used negative strategies were resignation, escape tendency and the more frequently occurring strategies of self-blame and perseveration. An avoidance strategy is the resolution of potential burdens or efforts to avoid them. Social support and avoidance strategies do not apply to either positive or negative strategies. Evaluation requires individual interpretation and knowledge of the context within all other strategies.

According to Welch’s t-test at the significance level of 0.05, a difference between the scores of men and women for diversion, avoidance, POZ1 and POZ2 strategies was demonstrated (p< 0.05). Males had statistically significantly higher scores for POZ1, while females had statistically significantly higher scores for diversion, avoidance, and POZ2. It can be stated that men compared to women from the research group tend to underestimate and devalue guilt, tend to overestimate and moderate the severity of the stressor. Women from the research group demonstrably chose the strategy of avoidance, diversion and overall POZ2 more than men. Avoidance strategy is neither positive nor negative, it depends on the overall context of the situation. Diversion strategies and overall POZ2 (diversion and indirects gratification subtests) include a tendency to choose a diversion from a stressful event with a preference for other acceptable activities. The data obtained did not prove the findings of Janke and Erdmann [6]  about giving priority to the strategies of need for social support, perseverance, resignation and a higher score of negative strategies in women.

A comparison general population with averages of military women found a statistically significant difference for 13 strategies. Compared to the average of the general population, women’s scores were statistically significantly higher for underestimation, deflection, response control, positive self-instruction, avoidance, POZ2, POZ3, and POZ.

When compared with the averages of men, a statistically significant difference was found for 15 strategies. Compared to the average of the general population, men’s scores were statistically significantly higher for underestimation, diversion, vicarious gratification, response control, positive self-instruction, avoidance, POZ1, POZ2, POZ3, and POZ. An interesting finding was a certain agreement in the order from the most to the least used coping strategies of men and women from the research group.

Individuals applying for active service in the Army of the Czech Republic should predominantly choose positive coping strategies and actively work on negative coping strategies. Men and women from the research group, interested in military service, had a higher tendency to choose active and positive stress management strategies, which were primarily positive self-instructions and control of the situation, which indicates the competence to manage challenging events and still have sufficient courage, control the situation and choose effective strategies for coping with it. If soldiers are to cope with military service, they must be able to make quick decisions and overcome stressful situations during military training, it is essential that they use exactly those strategies and actions that will lead them to the set goal and not those that only burden them in the long term. The profession of professional soldiers should be accompanied mainly by positive coping strategies that help to reduce stress in stressful situations.

Conclusions. The first research question concerned the influence of gender on the choice of stress management strategies. Conducted research by Aldwin authors [7], Medvedová [8], Urbanovská [9] a others state that the choice of coping strategies is related to age, experience, and abilities rather than gender. According to Welch’s t-test at the significance level of 0.05, a difference between the scores of men and women for the diversion, avoidance, POZ1 and POZ2 strategies was demonstrated (p < 0.05). Males had statistically significantly higher scores for POZ1, while females had statistically significantly higher scores for diversion, avoidance, and POZ2.

The obtained results agree, for example, with the work of the author Ficková [10], who states that women apply more coping strategies, as their ways are less effective. Conducted research by the authors Šolcová [11] and Eckenrode [12] also document differences between men and women.

The second question focused on the potential existence of a difference in the achieved values of positive stress management strategies between future servicemen and women of the Czech Army and the general population. A comparison with general population and averages of military women found a statistically significant difference for 13 strategies. Compared to the average of the general population, women’s scores were statistically significantly higher for underestimation, deflection, response control, positive self-instruction, avoidance, POZ2, POZ3, and POZ.

When compared with the averages of men, a statistically significant difference was found for 15 strategies. Compared to the average of the general population, men’s scores were statistically significantly higher for underestimation, diversion, vicarious gratification, response control, positive self-instruction, avoidance, POZ1, POZ2, POZ3, and POZ.

Individuals interested in and entering the service relationship of the Army of the Czech Republic may have certain personality characteristics that are reflected in a tendency to choose active and positive coping strategies. Also, the exclusion of negative coping strategies can encourage their lower use, and on the contrary, encourage positive strategies. In addition, it is necessary to mention a certain risk of choosing acceptable and desirable answers. Central management, organizational structure and a specific background with the most formal relationships at the workplace are characteristic features of the army environment. In such a work environment, it is necessary or almost necessary not to show weakness but rather show bravery and strength, which can be negatively reflected in susceptibility to desired answers. The positives and benefits of the research provide general material for possible further research in a similar direction.

It is clear that there is a statistically significant difference in 15 strategies between men in the research group and men in the general population. Among the women from the research group, the existence of a statistically significant difference in 13 strategies compared to women from the general population was demonstrated. Furthermore, it was found that the frequently used strategies of male and female soldiers equally include positive self-instruction, control of the situation, control of reactions and overall POZ3 (subtests control of the situation, control of reactions and positive self-instruction). Again, the least used negative strategies were resignation, escape tendency, and the more frequently occurring strategies of self-blame and perseveration. A difference was demonstrated between male and female scores for diversion, avoidance, POZ1 and POZ2 strategies (p< 0.05). Males had statistically significantly higher scores for POZ1, while females had statistically significantly higher scores for diversion, avoidance, and POZ2.

Recommendations. In the stressful situations of the Basic Training course, it is no exception that most soldiers have a fragile frustration tolerance and easily get stressed. It is during this period that military psychologists should continuously help develop stress management techniques. To teach soldiers to understand emotions, to understand their own and others’ emotions, to be able to honestly communicate and communicate their emotions in a socially appropriate way, and to guide soldiers to adopt a variety of strategies leading to the management of emotions. Namely, deepening the ability to communicate effectively, mastering the basics of breathing exercises, imaginative techniques and body relaxation, achieving the cessation of negative thoughts and being able to reassess a negative situation by reframing it into a positive one. It would be expedient to create a quiet place for regular practice of measures and procedures for better coping with mental and physical stress.

References:

1. Sovakova, H. Army psychologists provide professional support and counseling. URL: https://acr.army.cz/informacni-servis/armadni-psychologove-poskytuji-odbornoupodporu-a-poradenstvi–222367/
2. Dziakova, O. (2009). Military Psychology. Prague: Triton. [In czech].
3. Vyskov Military Academy. Course of basic preparation courses. Vyskov Military Academy. URL: https://www.vavyskov.cz/content/prubeh-kurzu-zakladni-pripravy
4. Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic. Construction concept of the Army of the Czech Republic 2030. Prague: Ministry of Defense of the CzechRepublic.URL: https://mocr.army.cz/images/id_40001_50000/46088/koncepce__2030.pdf
5. Janke, W., Erdmann, G. (2003). Stress management strategies. Prague: Test Center. [In czech].
6. Janke, W., Erdmann, G. (2003). Stress management strategies. Prague: Test Center. [In czech].
7. Aldwin, C. (2007). M. Stress, Coping and Development: An Integrative Perspective. New York: Guilford Press. [in English].
8. Medvěďová, Ľ. Sources of stress and sources of its management by children and adolescents. Psychology and child pathopsychologists. 2004, 39(2–3), 108–120. [In czech].
9. Urbanovská, E. (2010). School, stress and adolescents. Olomouc: Palacký University, Faculty of Education. [In czech]
10. Fickova, E. Preference of coping strategies in coping with stressful situations in children. Bratislava: Institute of Experimental Psychology SAS, 1994, pp. 73–84. [In czech].
11. Solcová, I., Lukavský J., Greenglass E. Proactive coping with life demands questionnaire. Czechoslovakian          2006,   50(2),   148–162.         URL: https://www.proquest.com/openview/c3701b030c9aecd64a9e0030fcba6165/1?pqorigsite=gscholar&cbl=28548

Eckenrode, J. (2013) The Social Context of Coping. New York: Springer. [in English].