Moderators of Psychological and Physical Health in a Military Assessment Center
Abstract
Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets supply the US Army with 70% of its Officers. Thus, cadet selections for duty status and branch assignment are critically important to the Army and to cadets. The ROTC evaluates and assigns its cadets by looking at three performance criteria: academic, university unit, and Advanced Camp. The latter is a 6-week, intensive, evaluative assessment center that assesses cadets' field and garrison leadership skills in units ranging of varying size (e.g., squad, platoon). This setting offers a controlled environment in which one can ascertain stress and its effects. Indeed, a multitude of different stressors may manifest during the course of the assessment center (e.g., role stressors). Stressors, of course, are not without their consequences in terms of adverse health effects, psychological and physical (e.g., Beehr, 1995; Jex, 1998). As such, applied researchers are always searching for the often-elusive buffer effect (Cohen & Wills, 1985). In the present study, the Advanced Camp assessment center provided a unique "real-world" opportunity to study: 1) the relationship between role stressors and health, both psychological and physical, and 2) individual difference moderators of this link. Given the social context and evaluative setting of Advanced Camp, we posited that self-efficacy and extraversion would buffer adverse health effects associated with role stress. Generally, our hypotheses were supported with 7 of the 12 moderated regressions being significant and revealing buffering effects. However, extraversion was found to exhibit an anti-buffering effect by compounding the relationship between reports of role overload and physical health symptoms.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 06, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA401693
Entities
People
- Jeffrey L. Thomas
- Kathleen M. Wright