A multi-level, longitudinal study of the strain-reducing effects of group efficacy, group cohesion, and leader behaviors on military personnel performing peacekeeping operations

The current study examined the longitudinal moderating effects of organizational social phenomenon (viz, leader behaviors, cohesion, and collective efficacy) on the relationship between stressors associated with military peacekeeping operations and psychological distress. This study was a secondary analysis of longitudinal data collected by personnel from the US Army Medical Research Unit - Europe. The original data were collected from US Army personnel deployed in support of the NATO peacekeeping operation in Kosovo. Data collection occurred in two waves. The first wave occurred during the mid-deployment phase of an approximately six-month deployment, while the second wave occurred approximately two months after the soldiers returned from Kosovo to capture post-deployment psychological distress. Data were separated into individual-level variables and organizational-level variables. The individual-level variables consisted of individual perceptions of operation-related stressors including, (a) role conflict and mission ambiguity associated with the role of peacekeeper, (b) concern for family well-being and (c) exposure to potentially traumatic events and the outcome variable assessing psychological distress. Organizational-level variables represented group perceptions of leader behaviors, cohesion, and collective efficacy aggregated at the US Army company to which the soldiers were assigned. Data from a sample of 547 soldiers assigned to 37 different US Army companies were examined using hierarchical linear modeling. Initial results indicated that, within organizations, only role conflict/mission ambiguity served to predict post-deployment individual psychological distress. None of the organizational-level variables predicted the within-groups relationship between role conflict/mission ambiguity and post-deployment psychological distress. However, a between-groups interaction of leader behavior and role conflict/mission ambiguity with psychological distress was observed. When leader behavior lacks clear direction and support and the mission is perceived of as vague or ambiguous, soldiers, on average, are more likely to experience greater degrees of psychological distress than in units where leaders exhibit strong characteristics of directive and supportive behaviors. This discrepancy, however, diminishes as soldiers perceive the peacekeeping environment as meaningful and pertinent. The results of this study reinforce the theory that leaders influence attitudes of subordinates which in turn positively affects psychological adaptation to potentially stressful environments.