Stress Perceptions of Soldiers Participating in Training at the Chemical Defense Training Facility: the Mediating Effects of Motivation, Experience, and Confidence Level

Abstract

An investigation was conducted by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and funded by the Physiological and Psychological Effects of the Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) Environment and Sustained Operations on Systems in Combat (P2NBC2) program to assess the psychological reactions of soldiers in mission-oriented protective posture (MOPP) IV participating in training in a simulated chemical agent environment and in a toxic agent environment. A total of 155 soldiers who participated in the basic course (junior enlisted) and the advanced courses (officer and noncommissioned officer NCO groups) as part of their military occupational specialty (MOS) training volunteered for the study. The junior enlisted group reported significant increases in anxiety during four sessions as they approached the toxic agent portion of the training. The more experienced groups showed a small, but significant increase in anxiety during sessions. Their level of hostility, a component of stress that usually relates to levels of personal frustration, decreased significantly from the time of their initial testing to just before the training began. Since the initial session occurred 1 to 2 weeks before the U.S. Army Chemical Defense Training Facility (CDTF) training, the elevated frustration level may be a reflection of their overall experiences within the intensive chemical defense training program. A significant drop in reported fatigue between the pre- and post- training sessions may indicate a certain level of vigilance gained by participating in the training. Anxiety, Efficacy, Motivation, Chemical defense, Fatigue, Psychological stress, Confidence, Hostility, Soldiers.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1994
Accession Number
ADA276961

Entities

People

  • Gerald A. Hudgens
  • Linda T. Fatkin

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anesthesia
  • Chemical Detectors
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • Environment
  • Health Services
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Occupational Specialties
  • Military Research
  • Noncommissioned Officers
  • Pain
  • Personnel Management
  • Stress (Physiology)
  • Students
  • Training

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Critical Infrastructure Protection in CBRN and WMD Threats.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Organizational Psychology.