| Abstract [eng] |
Contemporary soldier is a professional who is physically prepared to perform tasks under severe conditions. Various studies have confirmed that psychological strengths are essential for soldier's preparedness. In recent years, researchers and practitioners in many countries have been paying close attention to the phenomenon of soldiers' psychological resilience and its significant implications for the soldier and the organisation. The evolving research perspective on psychological resilience relates the phenomenon to coping with stressful situations and overcoming traumas, and describes it as the ability to 'bounce back'. This paper analyses soldiers' psychological resilience from the perspective of the military as a professional organisation in which soldiers carry out daily routine tasks. The aim of this study is to identify the organisational and individual antecedents of psychological resilience of professional military service members in the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the role of psychological resilience in the outcomes of relevance to the soldier and the military organisation. The study involved 440 Lithuanian Armed Forces professional military service soldiers. The study of the antecedents and consequences of soldiers' psychological resilience, considering the occupational and individual characteristics, revealed organisational and individual characteristics – the resources of soldiers' resilience that create favourable conditions for resilience and help soldiers to carry out their occupational activities effectively, strengthen their relationship with the organisation and enhance their subjective wellbeing. The study revealed that organisational factors that can be considered as resources for soldiers' psychological resilience include team cohesion and peer support, while individual factors include professional self-efficacy, proactivity, adaptability and intrinsic motivation. Soldiers who appreciate those factors feel more psychologically resilient. Soldiers' psychological resilience is a mediating variable which explains the relationship between organizational and individual factors and the effects on soldier and organisation. |
