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Hair Cortisol, Perceived Stress, and the Effect of Group Dynamics: A Longitudinal Study of Young Men during Compulsory Military Training in Lithuania

Author

Listed:
  • Rasa Smaliukienė

    (General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Silo 5a, LT-10322 Vilnius, Lithuania
    Department of Creative Communication, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Saulėtekio al. 11, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Svajone Bekesiene

    (General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Silo 5a, LT-10322 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Asta Mažeikienė

    (Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Physiology, Biochemistry, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Čiurlionio st. 21, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Gerry Larsson

    (Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Physiology, Biochemistry, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Čiurlionio st. 21, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
    Department of Security, Strategy and Leadership (ISSL), Swedish Defence University, Karlstad, Drottning Kristinas väg 37, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden
    Department of Public Health, Inland University College of Applied Sciences, Hamarvegen 112, 2406 Elverum, Norway)

  • Dovilė Karčiauskaitė

    (Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Physiology, Biochemistry, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Čiurlionio st. 21, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Eglė Mazgelytė

    (Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Physiology, Biochemistry, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Čiurlionio st. 21, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Ramutė Vaičaitienė

    (General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Silo 5a, LT-10322 Vilnius, Lithuania)

Abstract

Previous research shows a nonlinear dependency between hair cortisol concentrations and perceived stress levels. This may be due to stress being targeted at the individual level despite it also being a social phenomenon which is often affected by group dynamics. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the influence of perceived stress on the hair cortisol level, considering the impact of the variables of group dynamics (interpersonal, task, and norm cohesion). Information was collected on 11 groups of, in total, 112 young men in three phases of time during their compulsory military training (covering nine months in total). The classification and regression tree (C&RT) method was used to predict hair cortisol concentrations in groups. The results show that the variability of the hair cortisol level in young men groups can be explained by perceived stress only when the groups were in formation process (47.7% normalised importance in Model 1) and when the groups were working on their final tasks (37.80% normalised importance in Model 3); meanwhile, the importance of perceived stress in explaining hair cortisol concentrations is low when the group is in a routine period of a group life-span (28.9% normalised importance in Model 2). Interpersonal cohesion (normalised importance 100% in Model 1 and 80.0% in Model 3) and task cohesion (normalised importance 78.6% in Model 2) were the most important predictors in the study area. These results point to the importance of the elements of group dynamics when it comes to explaining the nature of hair cortisol as accumulated stress biomarkers in young men.

Suggested Citation

  • Rasa Smaliukienė & Svajone Bekesiene & Asta Mažeikienė & Gerry Larsson & Dovilė Karčiauskaitė & Eglė Mazgelytė & Ramutė Vaičaitienė, 2022. "Hair Cortisol, Perceived Stress, and the Effect of Group Dynamics: A Longitudinal Study of Young Men during Compulsory Military Training in Lithuania," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1663-:d:739927
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. A. Grieve, 1984. "Tests of sphericity of normal distributions and the analysis of repeated measures designs," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 49(2), pages 257-267, June.
    2. Viktorija Šimanauskienė & Vidmantė Giedraitytė & Olga Navickienė, 2021. "The Role of Military Leadership in Shaping Innovative Personnel Behaviour: The Case of the Lithuanian Armed Forces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Rasa Smaliukiene & Gintaras Labutis & Ausrius Juozapavicius, 2020. "Pro-Environmental Energy Behavior in the Military: Assessing Behavior Change Factors at a Selected Military Unit," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Svajone Bekesiene & Oleksandr Nakonechnyi & Olena Kapustyan & Rasa Smaliukiene & Ramutė Vaičaitienė & Dalia Bagdžiūnienė & Rosita Kanapeckaitė, 2023. "Determining the Main Resilience Competencies by Applying Fuzzy Logic in Military Organization," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, May.
    2. Svajone Bekesiene & Rosita Kanapeckaitė & Rasa Smaliukienė & Olga Navickienė & Ieva Meidutė-Kavaliauskienė & Ramutė Vaičaitienė, 2022. "Sustainable Reservists’ Services: The Effect of Resilience on the Intention to Remain in the Active Military Reserve Using a Parallel Mediating Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, September.
    3. Lok Ming Tam & Kristin Hocker & Tamala David & Edith Marie Williams, 2024. "The Influence of Social Dynamics on Biological Aging and the Health of Historically Marginalized Populations: A Biopsychosocial Model for Health Disparities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(5), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Svajone Bekesiene & Rasa Smaliukiene, 2022. "Personal Growth under Stress: Mediating Effects of Unit Cohesion and Leadership during Mandatory Military Training," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.

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