Tunisian veterans experienced uncommon circumstances that put their lives in permanent threat. In this context, it is crucial to understand the adaptive strategy they tend to use. Distress takes place when military veterans use ineffective coping styles within a taxing and high demanding context. The aim of the current study was to estimate the link between coping styles, the psychological well-being and work related stress. A second goal is to extend the analyses for clinical diagnosis and providing a specific interpretation of the military’s behavior. We investigated these issues in a qualitative study. Findings are discussed in the context of a theoretical framework of transactional approach. This was a survey with a random sample of military officers stratified by rank (n = 26). Coping strategy scale (CSS), perceived stress (PSS) and psychological well-being (PWBM) were administrated to veterans from different ranks (high ranks and low ranks). Additionally, Chi square frequencies were constructed between the perceived stress scales, coping strategies and psychological well-being. Results were consistent and showed a best fit between perceived stress and ranks of officers (X2 = 0.026, p < 0.05). Problem focused coping is known to be more effective than other coping strategies, but our findings add the fact that veterans using this style are completely deprived from happiness. The data emphasized specifically the absence of difference between men and women, or between the various ranks regarding coping styles; otherwise seniority plays a role in modulating this relationship. Comparison tests showed a significant difference across years of employment in terms of well-being: more senior participants had more self-esteem than new ones (X2 = 0.010, p < 0.05). Our results reveal that only two major coping strategies are predominantly used: problem resolution and avoidance. This further clarifies that military personals are incapable to maintain emotional balance and a satisfied image of themselves, complete absence of happiness and balance.
References
[1]
Carver, C.S. and Scheier, M.F. (1994) Situational Coping and Coping Dispositions in a Stressful Transaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 184-195. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.1.184
[2]
Selye, H. (1956) The Stress of Life. McGraw-Hill, New York.
[3]
Cannon, W.B. (1994) Reflections on the Man and His Contributions. International Journal of Stress Management, 1, 145-148.
[4]
Griffin, R.W. and Moorhead, G. (2009) Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. 9th Edition, Cengage Learning, USA.
[5]
Everly, G.S. and Lating, J.M. (2002) A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response. 2nd Edition, Kluwer, New York.
[6]
Lazarus, R.S. (1966) Psychological Stress and the Coping Process. McGraw-Hill, New York.
[7]
Lazarus, R.S. and Folkman, S. (1984) Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. Springer, New York.
[8]
Lewis, S.J. (2001) A Crisis State Assessment Scale: Development and Validation of a New Instrument. Dissertation Abstracts International, UMI No. AAT3034054, 1-128.
[9]
Lazarus, R.S. (1999) Stress and Emotion: A New Synthesis. Springer, New York.
[10]
Bruchon-Schweitzer, M. and Dantzer, R. (1996) Introduction à la psychologie de la santé. Sciences sociales et santé, 14, 117-121.
[11]
Rascle, N. and Irachabal, S. (2001) Médiateurs et modérateurs: Implications et méthodologiques dans le domaine du stress et de la psychologique de la santé. Le Travail Humain, 64, 97-118. https://doi.org/10.3917/th.642.0097
[12]
Lazarus, R.S. and Et Launier, R. (1978) Stress-Related Transactions between Person and Environment. In: Pervin, L.A. and Lewis, M., Eds., Perspective in Interactional Psychology, Plenum, New York, 287-327.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3997-7_12
[13]
Zeidner, M. and Saklofske, D. (1996) Adaptive and Maladaptive Coping. In: Zeider, M. and Endler, N., Eds., Handbook of Coping: Theory, Research, Applications, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 505-531.
[14]
Folkman, S. and Lazarus, R.S. (1980) An Analysis of Coping in a Middle-Aged Community Sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219-239.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2136617
[15]
Solmon, Z., Mikulincer, M. and Avitzur, E. (1988) Coping, Locus of Control, Social Support, and Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Prospective Study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 456-472.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.55.2.279
[16]
Holahan, C.J., Moos, R.H. and Schaefer, J.A. (1996) Coping, Stress Resistance, and Growth: Conceptualizing Adaptive Functioning. In: Zeider, M. and Endler, N., Eds., Handbook of Coping: Theory, Research, Applications, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 24-43.
[17]
Naceur, A. (2010) Quand l′émotion percoit et décide. In: Masmoudi, S. and Naceur, A., Eds., Du percept à la décision, DeBoeck Supérieur, Brussels, 25-49.
[18]
Naceur, A. (2013) Emotion et Apprentissage: De la théorie à la pratique. CPU, Tunis.
[19]
Scherer, K.R. (1982) Emotion as a Process: Function Origin, and Regulation. Social Service Information, 21, 555-570. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901882021004004
[20]
Frijda, N. (2006) The Laws of Emotion. Psychology Press, Hove.
[21]
Campos, R.V., Lee, Y.C. and Drucker, D.J. (1994) Divergent Tissue-Specific and Developmental Expression of Receptors for Glucagon and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 in the Mouse. Endocrinology, 134, 2156-2164.
https://doi.org/10.1210/endo.134.5.8156917
[22]
Kahneman, D. (1999) Objective Happiness. In: Kahneman, D., Diener, E. and Schwarz, N., Eds., Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 3-25.
[23]
Lucas, R. (2000) Understanding Extraverts’ Enjoyment of Social Situation: The Importance of Pleasantness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 343-356.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.2.343
[24]
Fromm, E (1994) Shaper of the Human Condition. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
[25]
Waterman, A.S. (1993) Two Conceptions of Happiness: Contrasts of Personal Expressiveness (Eudaimonia) and Hedonic Enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 678-691. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.64.4.678
[26]
Ryff, C.D. and Singer, B.H (2008) Thy Self and Become What You Are: A Eudaimonic Approach to Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Happiness Study, 9, 13-39.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9019-0
[27]
Rogers, C. (1963) The Actualizing Tendency in Relation to “Motives” and to Consciousness. In: Jones, M.R., Ed., Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1-24.
[28]
Ryan, R.M. and Deci, E.L. (2000) On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of Research on Hedonic and Eudainmonic Well-Being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141-166. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141
[29]
Cohen, S. and Edwards, J.R. (1989) Personality Characteristics as Moderators of the Relationship between Stress and Disorder. In: Neufeld, W.J., Ed., Advances in the Investigation of Psychological Stress, Wiley, New York, 235-283.
[30]
Paulhan, I. and Bourgeois, M. (1995) Stress et coping. PUF, Collection Nodules, Paris.
[31]
Vaillant, G.E., Bond, M. and Et Vaillant, C.O. (1986) An Empirically Validated Hierarchy of Defense Mechanisms. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 786-794.
https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1986.01800080072010
[32]
Massé, R., Poulin, C., Dassa, C., Lambert, J., Bélair, S. and Battaglini, A. (1998) élaboration et validation d’un outil de mesure du bien-être psychologique: L’éMMBEP. Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique, 89, 352-357.
[33]
Tamres, L.K., Janicki, D. and Helgeson, V.S. (2002) Sex Differences in Coping Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review and an Examination of Relative Coping. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6, 2-30.
https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0601_1
[34]
Montero-Marin, J., Pardo-Abrill, J., Demarzo, M.M., Gascon, S. and Garcia-Campayo, J. (2014) Coping with Stress and Types of Burnout: Explanatory Power of Different Coping Strategies. PLoS ONE, 9, e89090.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089090
