What is it about?

There are a high number of soldiers with deployment related and non-deployment related mental health problems in the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): This has led to an increase in absenteeism and a decrease in quality of life. To tackle these problems and to strengthen resilience among the Bundeswehr personnel, this study aims at developing a screening instrument for assessing the psychological fitness of soldiers on the basis of questionnaire scales. Psychological fitness in the military sense, describes a soldier’s ability to integrate and enhance his/her mental, emotional, and behavioral capabilities. Key words: Mental health, military personnel, work, health promotion, quality of life, prediction

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Why is it important?

There are a high number of soldiers with deployment related and non-deployment related mental health problems in the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): This has led to an increase in absenteeism and a decrease in quality of life. To tackle these problems and to strengthen resilience among the Bundeswehr personnel, this study aims at developing a screening instrument for assessing the psychological fitness of soldiers on the basis of questionnaire scales. Psychological fitness in the military sense, describes a soldier’s ability to integrate and enhance his/her mental, emotional, and behavioral capabilities.

Perspectives

This screening approach is applicable to large populations like that of the Bundeswehr, which currently has about 180,000 soldiers. Classifying psychological fitness allows specialists to differentiate between people in need of special training or additional diagnostic measures and those in need of sustaining their fitness regularly at the earliest possible stage. Over time, this should help to ensure that the soldiers stay psychologically fit and healthy and to reduce absenteeism.

Dr Ulrich Wesemann
Military Hospital Berlin

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This page is a summary of: Assessing Psychological Fitness in the Military – Development of an Effective and Economic Screening Instrument, Military Medicine, March 2018, Oxford University Press (OUP),
DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usy021.
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