Health and Well‐Being in Highly Cohesive Units of the U.S. Army¹

Abstract

A large civilian literature on the role of social support in health and well‐being suggests that military units high in unit cohesion should provide their members both significant protection from physical and mental illness and high levels of job satisfaction. This hypothesis was tested with a questionnaire survey of soldiers in Special Forces “A‐teams”, generally viewed as the U.S. Army's most cohesive permanent units. As predicted, A‐team soldiers reported greater physical and psychological well‐being and greater satisfaction with job and career than did soldiers in conventionally organized units, be they Special Forces, airborne, or mechanized infantry. The best predictors in our battery of demographic, personality, and cohesion measures were ratings of social support from and satisfaction with one's Army unit, and relatively more “internal” scores on the Rotter locus‐of‐control scale. From these data and extensive participant observation we conclude that unit cohesion provides the soldier considerable protection from the stresses of military life, even in peace, and that it is organizational rather than individual variables that are primarily responsible for the very high levels of cohesion and/or social support in Special Forces A‐teams.

Electronic performance monitoring and social context: Impact on productivity and stress.

“…Members of cohesive work groups tend to experience reduced turnover (Van Zelst, 1952), greater job satisfaction (Janssens & Nuttin, 1976;Manning & Fullerton, 1988;Van Zelst, 1952), a more positive view of the work climate (Janssens & Nuttin, 1976), and lower stress (Manning & Fullerton, 1988). The effects of group cohesiveness on productivity appear to be less straightforward, however.…”

“…The protection against stress provided by group cohesiveness has been attributed to the benefits associated with receiving social support (Manning & Fullerton, 1988). Research has suggested that social support systems have a main effect on perceived well-being, whereby they protect people from physical and psychological disorders regardless of whether stressors are present, and a buffering effect, whereby social support systems reduce the impact of stressors on system members (Cobb, 1976;Cohen & Wills, 1985;House, Landis, & Umberson, 1988).…”

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Work-Related Accomplishment as Predictors of General Health and Medical Utilization Among Special Operations Forces Personnel

“…Graduates of SOF training, for instance, demonstrate higher levels of psychological hardiness than military personnel who begin but ultimately do not complete SOF training, which might lend improved stress tolerance and successful performance in high-stress situations (Bartone et al, 2008). Indeed, research has suggested that, across nations, SOF personnel demonstrate better physical health, psychological well-being, and job satisfaction than do conventional military forces (Manning & Fullerton, 1988;Osorio et al, 2012aOsorio et al, , 2012b, despite greater exposure to traumatic events and combat (Hanwella & de Silva, 2012). Despite these relatively lower rates, PTSD symptoms nonetheless have a significant association with physical health complaints among Portuguese SOF personnel (Osorio et al, 2012a), suggesting that even mild symptoms can have a negative impact on health.…”

“…Despite these relatively lower rates, PTSD symptoms nonetheless have a significant association with physical health complaints among Portuguese SOF personnel (Osorio et al, 2012a), suggesting that even mild symptoms can have a negative impact on health. The high sense of accomplishment and pride in SOF units, combined with higher than average cohesion, has been posited as a buffer against PTSD and other health problems for SOF personnel (Hanwella & de Silva, 2012;Manning and Fullerton, 1988), although this has yet to be rigorously tested. Evidence from civilian samples also suggests that a stronger sense of work-related accomplishment is correlated with better mental and physical health (Kagan et al, 1995;Lee and Ashforth, 1990), although the applicability of these findings to military personnel is as yet unknown.…”

Koncentrace pozornosti v kontextu psychických stavů jako předpoklad pro úspěšnou práci s pokročilými automatizovanými systémy velení a řízení

“…Z odborné literatury, dle tvrzení Rostkera et al (1993), vyplývá, že soudržnost má větši-nou skromný pozitivní vliv na výkonnost. V několika výzkumných studiích, kde byly pří-tomny stresory, se zjistilo, že vyšší hladina soudržnosti jednotky byla spojena s účinnějším psychickým zvládáním a lepším výkonem pod tlakem (Rostker et al, 1993;Griffith, 1989;Manning & Fullerton, 1988). Milgram, Orenstein, a Zafrir (1989) naznačili, že soudržná skupina může být považována za optimální systém podpory v době krize z toho důvodu, že poskytuje emocionální podporu, informace, instrumentální pomoc, a doprovod.…”