Personality and Warfare

What is it about?

Warfare impacts individuals on multiple levels. The increasing number of global conflicts in concert with the ever-changing landscape related to modern warfare (e.g. terrorism and mass shootings) has increased the exposure to warfare conditions and negative outcomes regarding well-being. In this chapter, we will investigate the impact of warfare and how personality traits interact to promote and mediate resilience, and at times foster negative psychological outcomes following wartime exposure.

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Why is it important?

Warfare continues to impact society on multiple levels. Once thought of as combat between nations, the changing face of warfare that now involves civilians in increasing numbers makes understanding the interaction between personality traits and warfare important. PTSD is often studied as a negative outcome of wartime exposure due to the connection between moral injury and appraisal strategies post-combat. Personality traits play an important role in lessening posttraumatic reactions as increases in hardiness, task-oriented appraisals, dispositional optimism and forgiveness lead to lower levels of Neuroticism and less negative outcomes for individuals exposed to warfare. Further, increased exposure to warfare is impacting the development of personality traits in children, increasing neuroticism and emotional symptomology, making understanding personality development in children exposed to warfare important.