The impact of deactivation uncertainty, workload, and organizational constraints on reservists' psychological well-being and turnover intentions

Toward a "Dashboard" Indicator of Retention in U.S. Navy Personnel

INTRODUCTION

Retention is a top priority for the U.S. Navy. However, our understanding of factors influencing retention of Navy personnel is limited. Current research implies that poor mental health, low appraisals of unit cohesion, low leadership satisfaction, and low social support may adversely affect retention. There is a need to understand how these and other factors influence retention in U.S. Navy personnel. We evaluated a broad range of factors influencing job satisfaction and career intentions (proxies of retention) in a large sample of Navy service members.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seven hundred and ninety-eight U.S. Navy men and women participated in this study as part of the Naval Unit Behavioral Health Needs Survey (NHRC.2014.0006). Independent variables included personal and unit morale, unit cohesion, affective organizational commitment, social support, behavioral health, sleep, leadership satisfaction, and perceived stress. Dependent variables include job satisfaction and career intentions. Separate multivariate regression models examined the unique and combined associations of independent and demographic variables with each dependent variable, respectively.

RESULTS

Regression models accounted for 48% of variance in job satisfaction and 55% of variance in career intentions, respectively. The most robust predictors of job satisfaction were affective organizational commitment (i.e., one's emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in an organization), depressive symptoms, unit cohesion, and perceived stress; primary predictors of career intentions included affective organizational commitment, years of military service, marital status, and race/ethnicity.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we identified diverse predictors of job satisfaction and career intentions of Navy men and women, with overall models accounting for substantial variance in both outcomes. This study informs evidence-based policies, programs, practices, and processes designed to influence job satisfaction, career intentions, and retention in U.S. Navy service members. These study findings also inform the development of a dashboard indicator of retention of U.S. Navy men and women.

Nonfatal Suicidal Behaviors in the Administrative Records of Activated U.S. Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers, 2004-2009

OBJECTIVE

The U.S. Army suicide rate increased sharply during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is limited information about medically documented, nonfatal suicidal behaviors among soldiers in the Army's Reserve Component (RC), which is composed of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. Here we examine trends and sociodemographic correlates of suicide attempts, suspicious injuries, and suicide ideation among activated RC soldiers.

METHODS

Data come from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) Historical Administrative Data Study (HADS), which integrates administrative records for all soldiers on active duty for the years 2004 through 2009 (n = 1.66 million).

RESULTS

We identified 2,937 unique RC soldiers on active duty with a nonfatal suicidal event documented at some point during the HADS study period. There were increases in the annual incidence rates of suicide attempts (71 to 204/100,000 person-years) and suicide ideation (326 to 425/100,000 person-years). Incidence rates for suspicious injuries also generally increased but were more variable. Using hierarchical classification rules, we identified the first instance of each soldier's most severe behavior (suicide attempt versus suspicious injury versus suicide ideation). For each of those suicide- or injury-related outcomes, we found increased risk among those who were female, younger, non-Hispanic White, less educated, never married, and lower-ranking enlisted. These sociodemographic associations significantly differed across outcomes, although the patterns were similar.

CONCLUSION

Results provide a broad overview of nonfatal suicidal trends in the RC during the period 2004 through 2009. They also demonstrate that integration of multiple administrative data systems enriches analysis of the predictors of such events.

Interactive effects of work psychosocial factors on participation in workplace wellness programs

This study explored concurrent effects of six work psychosocial factors on current participation and the self-reported likelihood of future participation in workplace wellness programs using a cross-sectional survey, an ad hoc focus group, and structured interviews. Classification and regression tree analysis was used to analyze survey responses from 343 employees (194 nonparticipants, 95 participants, and 54 engaged participants). A thematic analysis of focus group (n = 7) and interview (n = 5) narratives was also undertaken. In combination with high work control, high superior support was associated with an engaged participant profile. Job demand was the third important variable with low and very high levels associated with participation. With regard to high likelihood of future participation, among respondents with age older than 50, high predictability of occupational activities and control were identified as a significant factor, and among others, high superior support and control. The analysis of narratives revealed peer relations and flexible working hours to be positively linked to participation and general job stress was identified as having a bidirectional relationship. Employees stated that stress led them to take advantage of these programs as a source of relief and that their availability/participation has contributed to lowering their stress. These findings inform practitioners about the importance of addressing poor psychosocial factors as a participation barrier and having a holistic approach to employee well-being.

Prevalence of perceived stress and mental health indicators among reserve-component and active-duty military personnel

OBJECTIVES

We examined stress levels and other indicators of mental health in reservists and active-duty military personnel by deployment status.

METHODS

We used data from the Department of Defense Health-Related Behaviors surveys, which collect comprehensive, population-based data for reserve and active-duty forces. Data were collected from 18 ,342 reservists and 16, 146 active-duty personnel.

RESULTS

Overall, with adjustment for sociodemographic and service differences, reservists reported similar or less work and family stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms than did active-duty personnel. However, reservists who had been deployed reported higher rates of suicidal ideation and attempts than did active-duty personnel who had been deployed and higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology than did any active-duty personnel and reservists who had not been deployed. The highest rates of suicidal ideation and attempts were among reservists who had served in theaters other than Iraq and Afghanistan.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that deployment has a greater impact on reservists than on active-duty members, thus highlighting the urgent need for services addressing reservists' unique postdeployment mental health issues. Also, deployment to any theater, not only Iraq or Afghanistan, represents unique threats to all service members' mental well-being.

The retention of recalled United States Navy nurse reservists

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that contribute to the retention of United States Navy Nurse Corps reservists called to duty in 2003. Data were collected by questionnaires based on Price and Mueller's causal model of voluntary turnover and were analyzed via descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. The data indicate that the model fits the data well, with job satisfaction having the strongest influence on one's intent to stay in the Reserve. The data analyses did not support the concern that a negative experience with a recall could make a reservist resign his/her commission. The results may prove useful to any nation that relies on a volunteer reserve force to augment its day-to-day nursing capabilities.

CyberStudies: lessons from the trenches

Many individuals suffer from anxiety, stress, and depression and those serving in the U.S. military are no exception. Warfighters keep returning from theater with combat stress. Several of these military service members are also technology oriented and tend to prefer performing their daily life activities with and/or near computerized systems. Fortunately, some researchers specialize in helping warfighters via gaming or virtual reality technologies. Nevertheless, a dearth of literature is published about challenges researchers face when conducting these types of studies. This article shares the experiences of a research team, under a uniformed Army Research Psychologist (Stetz), who runs research studies (a) with warfighters, (b) with technological equipment, and (c) in nonstandard laboratory settings.