title: Improved resiliency and well-being among military personnel in a Swedish Naval Force after a counter-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia.
abstract: The aim of this study was to explore: (1) how the psychological health of the members of the first European Union Naval Force (ME01) was affected by international deployment off the coast of Somalia; and (2) if and how organizational and personal factors (e.g., type of personnel category, previous experiences, and resilience) affected their psychological health and well-being post-deployment. The study had an exploratory longitudinal design, where the participants were assessed both before and after deployment (i.e., T1 and T2). The participants (n = 129, 120 men, 9 women) were equally distributed between officers (n = 68; 64 men, 4 women) and sailors (n = 61; 56 men, 5 women). The members' average age was 31 years, ranging from 20 to 61. For the majority (78%) ME01 was their first international deployment and officers were, in general, more experienced than sailors. The overall results showed that the members' reported a positive experience with improved resilience and well-being (e.g., sense of coherence). However, the result also showed that type of personnel category (i.e., officer or sailor) affected their psychological health. Why and how these differences among military personnel arise is discussed, but deserves further attention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bäccman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hjärthag
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kjerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Almqvist
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D060685:Sense of Coherence; D012998:Somalia; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Military personnel; international deployment; naval; psychological health; resilience; well-being