Peacekeeper versus soldier: A study in intra-role conflict

Over the past decade, there has been a major shift in the Army's missions, reflecting changes and new struggles in the world. Military missions have recently shifted from combat to peacekeeping operations. In spite of this fact, there is little empirical research on how soldiers respond and react to the peacekeeping role.; The current research is grounded in role theory. The concept of intra-role conflict was used to guide this study. Intra-role conflict can be defined as the internal conflict individuals may experience when their beliefs and their perceptions of their role and the expectation of others are in conflict. Soldiers trained for combat duty and the beliefs and attitudes associated with the role of soldier often encounter intra-role conflict when they are involved in a peacekeeping mission.; This study was a secondary analysis design. The study population was 1800 soldiers deployed on a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia in 1997; a sample of 615 soldiers represented a 33% survey response rate. The primary hypothesis tested in this research was controlling for age, gender, race, marital status, level of education, and military rank the higher the intra-role conflict the higher the reported level of deployment distress amongst soldiers involved in peacekeeping. The hypothesis was tested using correlation and multiple regression techniques.; The bivariate analysis indicated that both of the indicators of the dependent variable: negative mission experience and psycho-physical distress were significantly related to the independent variable, intra-role conflict. The multiple regression analysis showed that the control variables as a group were not related to the two indicators of deployment distress. The addition of intra-role conflict was significantly related to both negative mission experience and psycho-physical distress, explaining 21% of the variance in negative mission experience and 8% in psycho-physical distress. These findings support the major hypothesis underlying the study.; This study broadens the social work knowledge base by adding to our understanding of the relationship between intra-role conflict and mental health. Overall, this study should serve as a catalyst not only for future research on the effects of peacekeeping on soldiers but also for mental health prevention and treatment services.