Assessment of Stress Inoculation Training at the US Navy Surface Warfare Officer School
Abstract
Naval Officers face dynamic and challenging situations as part of their daily operations. These warfighters must be able to perform complex tasks and make critical decisions under high stress conditions. Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) utilizes controlled stress exposure during training to enhance expertise, adaptability, confidence, resilience, and performance under high stress conditions.In 2019, the Surface Warfare Officer School (SWOS) expanded their Surface Commanders Course (SCC) from the previous standard 9-week training program to an enhanced 10-week training program that implemented a SIT component (a briefing on stress and a week of exercises designed specifically to induce stress in the students). This study assessed and compared stress levels between the standard and the enhanced training program. SWOS students (N=40) participated in the study, 21 in the standard program (the Control group) and 19 students in the enhanced program (the SIT group). Measurements included assessments of life stress (Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, PSS), mood (Profile of Mood States, POMS), physical exertion (Modified Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion, RPE), cognitive workload (Bedford Workload Scale, BWS), salivary biomarkers for stress (-amylase, cortisol, C-reactive protein), and heart rate (HR).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1118297
Entities
People
- Heather L. Clifton
- Nita Lewis Shattuck
- Panagiotis Matsangas
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School