Page 101 - Biobehavioral Resilence to Stress

78 Biobehavioral Resilience to Stress

the first Persian Gulf War. These returning soldiers had been exposed to

mission-related stressors as well as interpersonal stressors. Female service
members reported experiencing more interpersonal strain than did their
male colleagues, and this type of stress also had a greater negative impact
upon female soldiers’ postdeployment mental health. Much of the female
soldiers’ stress was related to separation from family and the guilt they felt

because they were unable to fulfill their roles as wives, mothers, and daugh-
ters. Other researchers have observed that among female victims of sexual
abuse, those who are more resilient report less self-blame and fewer feelings
of stigmatization (Dufour & Nadeau, 2001). By extension, leaders may be able
to foster greater resilience among women by helping them to understand that
they are not abandoning their families when their jobs require separation.
Bliese (2006) reports on a series of studies carried out at the Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research from the early 1990s through 2005. Researchers
studied soldiers’ psychological well-being as a driver of resilience and job

performance in combat. Bliese and his colleagues define well-being as a con-
struct that includes, but is not limited to, factors such as depression, morale,
job satisfaction, and physical health. Based on research conducted at Walter
Reed, they observe that a positive social climate established by unit leader-

ship is the most significant contributor to soldiers’ well-being. Th is fi nding
reinforces the ideas of Johnson and Hall (1998), who argue that social sup-
port serves to reduce stress. While it is possible that resilient individuals may
be more likely to seek social support on their own initiative, leaders can facil-
itate this tendency by ensuring that social support is available when needed.

Resilience, Leadership, and Training
Recently, it has been reported that many U.S. service members have expe-
rienced significant mental health problems after serving in Afghanistan or

Iraq. Hoge, Auchterlonie, and Milliken (2006) studied warfi ghters who expe-
rienced combat in these overseas operations in 2003 and 2004. Th e authors
found that 19.1% of those who served in Iraq, 11.3% of those who served in
Afghanistan, and 8.5% of those who served in other deployment areas reported

mental health problems upon their return from deployment. The use of men-
tal health services or resignation from the military was signifi cantly and posi-
tively correlated with combat experience. Th ese findings have led researchers,

policy makers, and military leaders to propose that troops should receive
resilience training prior to their deployment and further that there is a need
for researchers to identify new ways of imparting coping strategies to troops
during deployment (Munsey, 2006; see also NATO RTO, 2007).
Numerous studies suggest that resilience can be enhanced by training.
For example, Sadow and Hopkins (1993) reported that resiliency training
improved levels of perceived self-efficacy and sense of personal control among

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