The Effect of the Duration of Military Service on the Psycho‑Emotional Stateof Military Personnel

Relevance. Military service is often carried out in conditions of increased danger to life. At the same time, the risk in the professional activities of military personnel should be considered simultaneously as a specific characteristic and one of the main stress factors in the performance of official tasks. The success of professional military activity, therefore, implies not only a high level of special knowledge and skills, but also requires high neuropsychiatric stability of the serviceman, bringing to the fore the psychological characteristics of the personality. The formation of professional burnout syndrome in military personnel leads both to a decrease in the effectiveness of official activities and an increase in the number of erroneous actions leading to tragic consequences, which determines the relevance and importance of studying this issue.

The purpose of the study. To determine the impact of the duration of military service on the level of professional burnout of military personnel.

Materials and methods. The study involved 60 military personnel, men aged 19-30 years, with service experience in the armed forces of the Russian Federation from 1 year to 10 years, under contract. Using the method “Diagnostics of the level of emotional burnout by V.V. Boyko”, MBI, the method of mental burnout by A. Rukavishnikov, studied the levels of psychoemotional burnout, professional motivation, psychoemotional exhaustion, tension, resistance in military personnel with various military service experience.

Results. The study identified a statistically significant (p ≤ 0.01) relationship between the duration of military service and the level of professional burnout among military personnel. Signs of professional burnout in varying degrees of manifestation were revealed in both research groups (with service experience of up to and more than 5 years). At the same time, in military personnel with more than 5 years of experience, the following were statistically significantly (р ≤ 0.01) more pronounced: tension, resistance, exhaustion, emotional exhaustion. dditionally, significant (p ≤ 0.05) increases in indicators of psychoemotional exhaustion and emotional burnout were noted. Strong and significant correlations were found between emotional exhaustion and personal detachment, as well as between psychoemotional exhaustion and decreased professional motivation in both groups.

Conclusion. Based on the structure of negative changes, target points for psychocorrective effects have been identified – recognition of professional achievements, training in the practice of relieving emotional stress and increasing personal involvement. A program of psychocorrective effects has been developed aimed at the psychological correction of the identified negative psychological conditions, consisting of socio-psychological training, socio-psychological training and training in applied relaxation using the Lars-Goran Öst method.

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