Are Peacekeeping Missions Inevitably Stressful?

The degree to which peacekeeping missions impact perceived stress, cognitive performance and cortisol levels: a longitudinal study. Military deployment is often associated with stress. Learning more about deployment stress is relevant for developing both preventive and reactive strategies for managi...

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Autores principales:	Niclas Wisén, Gerry Larsson, Ulf Arborelius, Mårten Risling
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Scandinavian Military Studies 2021
Materias:	peacekeeping stress biomarkers cognition military deployment Military Science U
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/503dbecdd21346b68726a3cf96b9a4be
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:503dbecdd21346b68726a3cf96b9a4be2021-11-08T08:16:00ZAre Peacekeeping Missions Inevitably Stressful?2596-385610.31374/sjms.107https://doaj.org/article/503dbecdd21346b68726a3cf96b9a4be2021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://sjms.nu/articles/107https://doaj.org/toc/2596-3856The degree to which peacekeeping missions impact perceived stress, cognitive performance and cortisol levels: a longitudinal study. Military deployment is often associated with stress. Learning more about deployment stress is relevant for developing both preventive and reactive strategies for managing stress. This study addresses stress before, during and after a peacekeeping mission. Data were collected on perceived stress and the stress biomarker cortisol. A total of 41 soldiers were assessed at three points (prior to deployment, during deployment and at homecoming). Soldiers’ perceived stress, cognitive performance and biomarkers were measured. Contrary to our hypothesis that stress accumulates during deployment, leading to increased perceived stress and levels of cortisol (as measured in the morning by the cortisol awakening response, or CAR), and to decreased results on cognitive tests, the results show that the levels of perceived stress were lower during deployment than before and after deployment, as measured by the soldiers’ pre- and post-deployment scores. The soldiers also had a reduced CAR response at homecoming compared to their pre-deployment levels. The results indicate that peacekeeping missions may contain stress-mitigating factors that have previously been underestimated. Further research addressing stress-mitigating factors might allow a deeper understanding of the deployment environment and, subsequently, new methods of promoting soldiers’ well-being and maintaining high combat fitness.Niclas WisénGerry LarssonUlf ArboreliusMårten RislingScandinavian Military Studies articlepeacekeepingstressbiomarkerscognitionmilitary deploymentMilitary ScienceUENScandinavian Journal of Military Studies, Vol 4, Iss 1 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	peacekeeping stress biomarkers cognition military deployment Military Science U
spellingShingle	peacekeeping stress biomarkers cognition military deployment Military Science U Niclas Wisén Gerry Larsson Ulf Arborelius Mårten Risling Are Peacekeeping Missions Inevitably Stressful?
description	The degree to which peacekeeping missions impact perceived stress, cognitive performance and cortisol levels: a longitudinal study. Military deployment is often associated with stress. Learning more about deployment stress is relevant for developing both preventive and reactive strategies for managing stress. This study addresses stress before, during and after a peacekeeping mission. Data were collected on perceived stress and the stress biomarker cortisol. A total of 41 soldiers were assessed at three points (prior to deployment, during deployment and at homecoming). Soldiers’ perceived stress, cognitive performance and biomarkers were measured. Contrary to our hypothesis that stress accumulates during deployment, leading to increased perceived stress and levels of cortisol (as measured in the morning by the cortisol awakening response, or CAR), and to decreased results on cognitive tests, the results show that the levels of perceived stress were lower during deployment than before and after deployment, as measured by the soldiers’ pre- and post-deployment scores. The soldiers also had a reduced CAR response at homecoming compared to their pre-deployment levels. The results indicate that peacekeeping missions may contain stress-mitigating factors that have previously been underestimated. Further research addressing stress-mitigating factors might allow a deeper understanding of the deployment environment and, subsequently, new methods of promoting soldiers’ well-being and maintaining high combat fitness.
format	article
author	Niclas Wisén Gerry Larsson Ulf Arborelius Mårten Risling
author_facet	Niclas Wisén Gerry Larsson Ulf Arborelius Mårten Risling
author_sort	Niclas Wisén
title	Are Peacekeeping Missions Inevitably Stressful?
title_short	Are Peacekeeping Missions Inevitably Stressful?
title_full	Are Peacekeeping Missions Inevitably Stressful?
title_fullStr	Are Peacekeeping Missions Inevitably Stressful?
title_full_unstemmed	Are Peacekeeping Missions Inevitably Stressful?
title_sort	are peacekeeping missions inevitably stressful?
publisher	Scandinavian Military Studies
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/503dbecdd21346b68726a3cf96b9a4be
work_keys_str_mv	AT niclaswisen arepeacekeepingmissionsinevitablystressful AT gerrylarsson arepeacekeepingmissionsinevitablystressful AT ulfarborelius arepeacekeepingmissionsinevitablystressful AT martenrisling arepeacekeepingmissionsinevitablystressful
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Are Peacekeeping Missions Inevitably Stressful?

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