Gender and Military Psychology

Traditional Machismo and Caballerismo as Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Psychological Distress, and Relationship Satisfaction in Hispanic Veterans

“…Several characteristics associated with both traditional machismo and caballerismo are also consistent with military culture (Lorber & Garcia, 2010). Although the culture of the U.S. military is fluid, it has traditionally emphasized stereotypically masculine ideals (Febbraro & Gill, 2010). In addition, there has been and remains a strong emphasis on value‐driven behavior, such as that evidenced in Army values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.…”

Experiences and Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Forces Combat Arms

“…Such declines in reported harassment over time may be attributable to several factors, including an increased emphasis on harassment policies or a commitment on behalf of military leaders to eradicate harassment from the military (Febbraro & Gill, 2010;Holden & Tanner, 2001). However, it remains unclear as to whether a reduction in reported sexual harassment is attributable to a decrease in harassment incidents or to women not reporting harassment due to increasing concerns surrounding the reporting process, even on surveys.…”

“…In 1989 the Canadian military began recruiting women into the combat arms as a result of a Canadian human rights tribunal decision that ordered all Canadian military occupations open to women. Today, only about a dozen other countries allow women to serve in direct ground combat roles (see Febbraro & Gill, 2010), while most other countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, do not (see note 1). Still, there remain challenges for Canadian women in the combat arms; although civilian women represent 51% of the workforce in Canada (Winslow, Browne, & Febbraro, 2007), women constitute only 12.5% of the Canadian military (Davis, 2004) and less than 2% of the combat arms (Kaye, 2011).…”

“…Notably, while it may be easier for women to discuss experiences of sexual harassment with researchers conducting studies of harassment, compared to reporting the harassment to authorities, women may nevertheless still have concerns about informally reporting their harassment even to researchers (e.g., discomfort in sharing personal and sensitive information with researchers) or may not perceive or label their experiences as constituting harassment, making the underreporting of harassment a potential issue even for survey research. Such problems may complicate comparisons of harassment over time, across studies, across nations, or even across diverse occupations (see Febbraro & Gill, 2010, for a more detailed discussion).…”