The military profession exposes personnel to a large number of stressors, including some that are very extreme and more intense than those experienced in other human activities. While the research category of extreme combat stress reactions causing casualties has not attracted significant attention from psychologists, it has received considerable attention from psychiatrists, who primarily focus on treatment and enabling wounded members to return to work. A review of the literature indicates that military stress research concentrates heavily on combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with less attention directed toward daily stressors inherent in military occupations.
Occupational Stress in Military Contexts
Regarding the relationship between occupational stress and physical and mental health, numerous studies have examined the close connection between these factors. Research by Kawakami and Tsutsumi (2010) summarized the relationship between occupational stress and physical and mental health, finding that different stress levels result in various stages of physical and mental health outcomes among different professions. The military, as a high-risk and stressful career, necessitates the development of specialized pressure scales suitable for measuring the occupational effectiveness of soldiers.
The question of how to objectively and accurately evaluate these factors should form the basis of further research on the relationship between stress and work environment, performance, and physical and mental health. There is a clear need to compare different occupational stress levels and implement effective intervention measures to optimize work stress levels within military contexts.
Limitations of Current Assessment Tools
Currently, military personnel most commonly use occupational stress questionnaires intended for the general population, such as the Occupational Stress Inventory—Revised (OSI-R) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). While Luo et al. (2012a) have compiled The Psychological Stressors of Soldiers in the Southern Theater Command scale, this tool ignores the influence of military-specific stressors. Existing stress scales for soldiers have focused primarily on external stressors including events and effects in the environment rather than on subjective and internal feelings, such as one's work environment, marriage, and relationships with family and friends.
These traditional approaches fail to account for individual differences in the stress response and individual and situational factors. Richard and Susan (1984) highlighted that one key component of an individual's response to a stressful event is "cognitive evaluation," which is partly dependent on an individual's assessment of their ability to respond to the event themselves. This "black box" between stressors and stressful feelings—cognitive evaluation—ultimately influences an individual's response to stress, together with the stressful feelings themselves.
Development of the Military Occupational Stress Response Scale (MOSRS)
To address these limitations, researchers developed the Military Occupational Stress Response Scale (MOSRS) to provide scientific tools for measuring and evaluating military career stress. This research aimed to lay the foundation for developing research on military career stress by investigating risk factors and protective factors affecting military occupational health. The process involved establishing a military daily stress event database, borrowing from existing occupational stress scales and theories, and compiling tools for measuring daily occupational pressures.
The development process included several methodological steps:
Military Occupational Stress Hypothesis: Based on literature reviews and advanced experiences from domestic and international military occupational stress research, researchers proposed a military occupational stress structure diagram that considers professional characteristics of soldiers.
Scale Question Bank Preparation: Military stress events were investigated through literature reviews and in-depth interviews to establish a database of military occupational stress events. In the initial phase, 22 officers and soldiers (15 men and 7 women, 9 officers and 13 soldiers) were selected using convenience sampling for interviews. Entries and sentences related to stressors were extracted from the stress event database and compiled based on military occupational structures.
Psychometric Properties of the MOSRS
The MOSRS was developed as a three-factor model measuring stress responses rather than stressors:
- Component 1: Physiological response
- Component 2: Psychological response
- Component 3: Behavioral response
Confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit with χ² = 2.247, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.061, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.051–0.071), comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.942, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.932, and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.048.
The scale demonstrated strong psychometric characteristics:
Reliability
- Cronbach's α coefficients for the dimensions ranged from 0.710 to 0.900
- Omega reliability values ranged from 0.714 to 0.898
- All values exceeded the critical standard of 0.7, indicating good reliability
Validity
- Average variance extracted (AVE) values for psychological and behavioral responses were not higher than the critical standard of 0.50
- Composite reliability (CR) values were all higher than 0.70, indicating good convergence validity
- Correlation coefficients between dimensions ranged from 0.389 to 0.607
- The square root of AVE was higher than the correlation coefficients between dimensions, indicating good discriminant validity
- Confirmatory factor analysis revealed item loads ranging from 0.499 to 0.878 for each item
Key Advantages of the MOSRS
Unlike previous stress scales that focused solely on external stressors, the MOSRS concentrates specifically on stress responses. This approach acknowledges the importance of cognitive evaluation as a mediator between stressors and responses. The scale can be used separately or in conjunction with other stressor scales for a comprehensive assessment of military occupational stress.
Future Directions for Military Occupational Stress Research
Several important future directions have been identified for military occupational stress research:
Generalizability Studies: Additional research using the MOSRS should be conducted with other military arms and divisions to further evaluate the scale's value and effectiveness across different military populations.
Intervention Development: After objectively and effectively evaluating professional stresses faced by soldiers, measures should be implemented to guide officers and soldiers in conducting effective stress management. Future studies may develop military occupational stress assessment manuals and establish officers' and soldiers' occupational stress files according to different occupational pressure levels.
Implementation of Effective Interventions: Effective intervention measures may be implemented to maximize the potential of the military workforce in their careers, improve officers' and soldiers' management of stress and their stress responses, and optimize their work performance and physical and mental health.
Conclusion
The Military Occupational Stress Response Scale represents a significant advancement in assessing stress responses specifically within military contexts. Unlike previous tools that focused on external stressors, the MOSRS measures the internal responses to stress across physiological, psychological, and behavioral domains. The scale has demonstrated strong reliability and validity, making it a valuable tool for researchers and practitioners working with military populations.
The development of this scale addresses a critical gap in the literature by providing a specialized assessment tool that considers the unique stressors and response patterns within military occupations. Future research should focus on expanding the scale's application across different military populations and developing targeted interventions based on assessment results.
While the scale represents an important step forward, it is essential to acknowledge its current limitations. The MOSRS focuses specifically on stress responses rather than stressors, and it should ideally be used in conjunction with other assessment tools that evaluate environmental and situational factors. Additionally, the scale's generalizability to different military populations requires further investigation.