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Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
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OCR for page 126
Stress Reduction 60
The drill instructor project developed from longitudinal research on the
stressful nature of drill field duty (Novaco, Sarason, Robinson, & Cunningham,
1982; Novaco, Sarason, Robinson, & Parry, 1983), which had been initiated
after studies on recruit attrition and adjustment found strong effects for
training unit influences (Novaco & Sarason, 1986). The drill instructor
intervention program has just entered the evaluation phase. Data are being
gathered on a multitude of cognitive, personality, behavioral, and
physiological variables to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.
PROSPECTS FOR IMP~ENTATION
As stipulated by the conceptual model given earlier, stress must be
understood in terms of contextual conditions. The mechanisms by which
environmental demands operate to produce stress reactions are linked to
features of the physical ant loci-cultural milieux that affect stressor
salience and signification, mitigating factors, resources, and coping
processes. For example, not everyone who has a long commute to work on
congested roadways is going to experience stress that is manifested by
elevated blood pressure, negative mood, lowered frustration tolerance,
impairments in cognitive functioning, and health problems. Indeed, such
stress reactions are significantly influenced by conditions of the residential
and work environments, between which one commutes, as well as by cognitive-
behavioral characteristics of the individual and their efforts to cope with
commuting stress (Stokols & Novaco, 1981). Similarly, whether a drill
instructor exhibits stress reactions will depend on contextual conditions such
as workload (which is phasic and greatest in summer months of high
accessions), company and battalion policies, types of supervision received,
the social climate of the drill instructor team, unexpected pressures, and his
OCR for page 127
S tress R eduction 6 .
own leadership style ant personality. This is not to say that "it all
depends," but to state that relevant contextual factors and their interaction
can be identified, and importantly we must understand when prevailing
conditions impose constraints or limitations on the degree to which certain
stress coping strategies can be utilized.
At the outset, a fundamental set of stress coping skills can be
identified which might be considered to be a distillation of a broad range of
research on stress and stress reduction practices. These are (1) self-
monitorinz of somatic states, thoughts, feelings, and behavior patterns, (2)
arousal reduction with regard deco both general arousal levels and particular
_
occasions of activation, (3) task-orientation, which is the ability to focus
on the task at hand and engage in behavior instrumental to achieving
identified goals, (4) setting realistic expectations for oneself and others,
(5) constructive thinking about situations, the behavior of others, and one's
own behavior, especially with regard to setbacks and thwartings, (6)
behavioral competence in dealing with recurrent environmental demands or
problems, and (7). utilizing supportive social relationships. For the most
part, these coping skills have been the basis of the intervention that Irwin
Sarason and I have undertaken with Marine Corps drill instructors, with the
exception of arousal reduction, which seemed less feasible in that context.
On the basis of the present review, the prospects for stress reduction
can be seen with regard to training environments and the provision of remedial
services through mental health units.
Training facilities from recruit training depots to specialized schools,
such as those for drill instructors, officer candidates, NCO academies,
recruiters, airborne jumpmaster, underwater demolition, etc., are prime arena
for stress coping curricula as a preventive intervention. The receptivity of
OCR for page 128
Strew Reduction ~2
the audience to stress reduction messages, however, will depend upon their
perception of its relevance. If the audience is experiencing stress and is
looking for remedial ideas then conditions of receptivity are optimum. But
when the person is either not currently stressed or does not perceive the
severity of the impending stress associated with the future duty assignment,
then the perceived value of the stress reduction program will be attenuated.
Therefore, it will be important to not only give the audience a realistic
picture of impending stress but also to tie the ideas about stress coping
skills to performance enhancement. The program audience needs to see that
augmenting their stress coping ability will lead to improvement in their
performance, as well as in their well-being. In this regard, it is essential
that such messages be delivered by highly credible sources. Whenever
possible, high status role models should be the vehicle for the instructional
material.
As several studies indicate, training environments have stressful
regimens, but the stressful conditions are phasic, with stress being higher in
the early weeks. This was demonstrated by the physiological and health
studies on Marine recruits, Army Officer candidates, Navy underwater
demolition training, and airmen in basic training. Attrition research with
Marine recruits (Mobley et al., 1979; Novaco ~ Sarason, 1986) also finds that
the majority of attrition occurs early in training. From a standpoint of
secondary prevention, this facilitates early detection and the provision of
remedial assistance. For example, Conrad, Barry, and Patterson (1976) in a
study at West Point found that the effectiveness of treatment in returning
cadets to duty was related to early identification of stress symptoms. A more
impressive study in this regard but concerning the enlistment period was
performed by Steinberg and Durell (1968) who reviewed the service records of
OCR for page 129
S=e" Reduction 63
every uncommissioned soldier in the U.S. Army who had been hospitalized for
schizophrenia from 1956-1960. They found that the rate of hospitalization is
markedly increased in the early months of service and that chronic cases
account for only a small fraction of this high incidence. They viewed the
initial period of service as that having the greatest demand for social
adaptation, accompanied by psychological stress.
The implementation of secondary prevention hinges on early detection of
signs that are empirically related to some outcome criteria. It is far from
clear what the stress diagnostic protocol might be. Mental health screening
with standardized instruments such as the MMPI is routinely done in some
specialized schools, but it is unclear how general such practices are or what
their utility indeed is. Physical health assessments are probably done
infrequently, and I would speculate that military personnel often avoid
getting physicals. I suspect that the flight surgeon is one of the last
persons that a pilot would like to see. Existing stress assessment devices
such as life events scales, hassle scales, symptom checklists, Type-A behavior
scales, or measures of job tension might be examined as a predictive battery,
but it is likely that contextual conditions can easily override personological
indices. For example, in my research with Irwin Sarason on Marine Corps drill
instructors, we have found that the Speed/Impatience component of Type-A
behavior (assessed by the Jenkins Activity Survey) is indeed associated with
stress during drill field duty and is predictive of supervision evaluations of
job performance (inverse relationship). Yet a more striking discovery was
that when we examined a person's rank at graduation from Drill Instructor
School, we found that those who were corporals had a 50.t chance of being
relieved of duty for maltreatment or drug use. A relatively small percentage
of DI School candidates were corporals, but these men had been selected
OCR for page 130
Stress Reduction 6~
because they showed promise and indeed they performed very well in DI
School. After graduation and the training of their first platoon, they
typically were promoted to sergeant. However, our speculation is that these
men adopted poor leadership styles on the drill field and probably were too
intense in their approach, trying to prove themselves and rise above the two
stripes conspicuously on their sleeves. By the time trouble was noticed,
their rank was sergeant or above, hence the relationship of high incidence
escaped attention. Our research with four DI School cohorts did receive
attention by base commanders, and corporals are no longer sent to Drill
Instructor School.
Our consistent findings of training unit environment effects in recruit
training appear also to extend into the first term of enlistment, although
analyses on those recruit longitudinal data are not complete. We do know that
the social environment established by drill instructors is a key factor
determining attrition, adjustment, and performance. This also has effects on
recruit cognitions, such as expectations for control of reinforcement (Cook,
Novaco, & Sarason, 1982). Drill instructors who adopt a "firm but fair"
approach as opposed to a more coercive, harassing approach, are likely to
produce service men that are better adjusted and indeed perform better in the
Fleet Marine Force. Preliminary analyses of archival data and ratings of FMF
company commanders of our longitudinal subjects so indicate.
Among the patterns that we have found is that low attrition drill
instructors (those whose platoons remain relatively intact from forming to
graduation) foster increases in efficacy expectations and perceptions of
personal control among their recruits. In contrast, high attrition drill
instructors (those whose platoons have high discharge rates) cause decreases
in efficacy and lowering of perceptions of control. These findings echo the
OCR for page 131
Stress Reduction 6:
efficacy themes of Rachman's (1978) analysis of fear in combat. He argues
that degrees of fear are associated with controllability and confidence and
that combatants having appropriate competence and confidence will be less
disrupted by fear.
Military organizations obviously aim to build personal efficacy, but how
well particular training units achieve that objective is an open question.
When there are identifiable variations in the effectiveness of training
personnel, something can be learned about the proficiencies of the more
successful leaders. As Bandura (1977) has delineated, efficacy expectations
derive from four main sources, namely performance accomplishments, vicarious
experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states. Training unit
leaders can enhance efficacy, therefore, through modeling and suggestion.
They can also structure training activities to maximize personal mastery
experiences for trainees.
Physiological arousal is thought to be a source of efficacy expectations
because if arousal is low in a stressful situation, the person will perceive
themselves as less vulnerable and the potentially debilitating effects of
arousal on performance will be minimized. The arousal reduction approaches
reviewed earlier can be employed to promote self-regulatory skills. They
must, however, be suited to the context of their application and provisions
must be made for the practice of arousal reduction techniques. The study by
Burke (1980) with Army Airborne trainees, for example, fell short on both of
these aspects. The breathing control procedure was too complicated, and there
was no monitoring of practice. In general, arousal reduction procedures
require time in skill acquisition and application training. Perhaps they are
tees; utilized by mental health specialists in the treatment of stress cases
when there is an explicit personal reason for their use. Training in self-
OCR for page 132
Stress R eduction 6 ~
monitoring, on the other hand, is more simplified and has a broader range of
application. Keeping tabs on somatic states, thought, feelings, and behavior
is a fundamental skill of stress management, the point of departure for doing
anything to remediate stress.
When it has been estimated that in a high intensity war, one-third of the
non-death casualties will be psychiatric, the value of stress coping skills
should gain sway. Because stress has direct effects on performance, as well
as on health and adjustment, the ability to regulate stress can be a
significant asset to troops and commanders. While research on stress
reduction is in its nascency, there already is a core of basic principles and
techniques that can be utilized both in training and in treatment units.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
drill instructors
