STRESS AND RESILIENCE IN MILITARY PERSONNEL

Research purpose. The reactions of military personnel in response to critical events have an impact on public order and security. The purpose of this study is to analyse the mediating role of internal and external resources in the relationship between operational stress and resilience in military gendarmes involved in current peace-time high-risk missions. Methodology. Participants were 214 military gendarmes, who completed five self-report scales regarding operational stress, resilience, self-efficacy, professional commitment, and leadership styles and evaluated the perceived efficiency of the psychological training. Results. The results show that, when analysed separately, internal resources (occupational commitment and perceived self-efficacy) act as partial mediators in the relationship between operational stress and resilience. When the mediating role of external resources is analyzed separately, they also partially mediate the same relationship. Following the simultaneous introduction as mediators of both categories of resources, only occupational commitment and perceived self-efficacy remain partial mediators in the relationship between operational stress and resilience. Considering the importance of this profession in society, the results can contribute to the prevention of negative events by promoting adequate psychological intervention strategies specifically based on individual resources