Page 67 - Biobehavioral Resilence to Stress

44 Biobehavioral Resilience to Stress

include personal attributes, task requirements, environmental variables, social
and cultural factors, and organizational context. In particular, resilience to the
stresses of war depends upon the complex, dynamic, and interactive infl uences
of individual, environmental, and social variables.
Prior to the current war in Iraq, our most recent experience with protracted

military conflict occurred in Vietnam. The shattering consequences of that

experience have led to fundamental changes in the U.S. military force devel-
opment and personnel policies. Not the least of these changes was the transi-
tion to an all-volunteer force (AVF). Our military establishment has changed
dramatically since the end of the Vietnam era, and these changes must condi-
tion our understanding of the performance of our military under current and
future conditions. Today’s AVF is composed of both active and reserve com-
ponents whose members include more women, more married service mem-
bers, and generally well-educated service members due to higher standards

in recruitment (Huffman & Payne, 2006; Kelley, 2006). In general, members
of the AVF military also tend to be more socially and politically conservative
than their civilian counterparts (Segal & Segal, 2004).
For the purpose of this chapter, it is important to consider that the types

and effects of stress associated with military service will to some degree
depend upon the specific characteristics of military personnel themselves,

the resulting overall composition of the military force, and the interactive
effects of force composition and contemporary demands on individual and

team performance. For example, service members who are married and
have children may be differently or more profoundly affected by the stress of

deployment than their unmarried counterparts. If the majority of personnel
in a particular unit are uniquely vulnerable to a particular source of stress,
the performance of the unit as a whole may deteriorate more rapidly or more
severely than a unit whose members are less vulnerable. Changes in the com-
position of the AVF can occur gradually, for example, as an effect of long-

term national demographic or socioeconomic trends, or more suddenly as
a result of policies that affect recruitment and retention. Such changes are

important to our understanding of stress and resilience in the context of
individual and group military performance.
A presumed advantage of a voluntary military force is that its members
are motivated by commitment to military life and mission. Th is motiva-
tion, in turn, should promote the development and maintenance of greater
resilience to stress among service members and their families. Individuals
who have been exposed to extreme stress or trauma generally demonstrate
a better emotional outcome if they believe their experience served a “higher
purpose” (Brewin, Andrews & Valentine, 2000; Watson & Shalev, 2005). It

has also been shown that mental health outcomes in the aftermath of the war
are mediated by the extent to which a nation endorses military mission and

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