The Relationship Between Perceived Stress, Psychological Distress and Thwarted Belongingness Among Military Service Members

Suicide remains a leading cause of death among members of the military, with psychological distress, perceived stress and thwarted belongingness emerging as key variables which impact this behavior. This thesis aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived stress, psychological distress and thwarted belongingness in a population of Active Duty Army Service Members (ADASM) at baseline and longitudinally. The Resilience-Supportive Leadership Training (RESULT) dataset was originally collected to assess the effectiveness of an intervention in the military. However, this thesis is a secondary data analysis of this dataset, including 273 ADASM participants. The K6 psychological distress test was used to measure psychological distress, the perceived stress scale was used to measure perceived stress, and the Thwarted Belongingness subscale of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire measured Thwarted Belongingness. Correlations and regressions were performed and used to analyze the hypothesized relationships. It was found that higher levels of psychological distress was associated with higher levels of thwarted belongingness at baseline and longitudinally. Similarly, it was found that higher levels of perceived stress was associated with higher levels of thwarted belongingness both at baseline and longitudinally. These findings support theoretical models emphasizing interpersonal risk factors for suicide and underscore the need for screening and intervention strategies addressing both stress and social disconnection in military populations.