Organizational and non-organizational risk and resilience factors associated with mental health and well-being in the Royal Canadian Navy

Author(s): Shannon Gottschall [sup.1] , Eva Guérin [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.461959.6, 0000 0001 0943 0128, Department of National Defence, , 60 Moodie Drive, K1A OK2, Ottawa, ON, Canada Resilience [...]
Research on resilience to adversity/stress in the military has typically involved samples of predominantly Army members and focused on individual-level factors. The current study examined a broader range of organizational and non-organizational risk and resilience factors linked to mental health and well-being in hard sea occupations managed by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). An electronic survey was administered to a stratified random sample of 930 members in hard sea occupations. Most of the weighted sample were male non-commissioned members of the Regular Force, and just over half were serving on-ship at the time of survey administration. Multivariate linear regressions identified correlates of psychological distress, life satisfaction, and burnout. Many of the organizational factors (e.g., workload, work-family conflict) were significantly associated with burnout, while final regression models for the broader outcomes of psychological distress and life satisfaction included a smaller set of organizational variables, as well as other risk and resilience factors extending beyond the workplace (e.g., social support, mastery). The findings also suggested a moderating effect of reward on the association between job stress and psychological distress and differences in the relationships among variables for those serving on-ship versus in a land-based unit. These results highlight the need for research that accounts for the unique experiences of navy personnel, and the need to consider a broad range of risk and resilience factors. Maximizing these resilience factors and/or reducing these risk factors may enhance mental health and well-being among navy personnel.