Effects of Hardiness and Years of Military Service on Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in U.S. Army Medics

We examined the effects of hardiness on symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS) in postdeployed U.S. Army medics (N= 322). Medics endure a high level of work-related stress on and off the battlefield. Hardiness correlated negatively with reports of PTS symptoms and moderated the cumulative effects of years of military service on PTS symptoms. After controlling for socially desirable responding, PTS symptoms increased with years of military service for those with low levels of hardiness and decreased with years of military service for those with very high levels of hardiness. The military’s current resiliency training programs would likely benefit from incorporating hardiness measures and principles into its curriculum.