IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i16p10389-d893651.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Personal Growth under Stress: Mediating Effects of Unit Cohesion and Leadership during Mandatory Military Training

Author

Listed:
  • Svajone Bekesiene

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

  • Rasa Smaliukiene

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

Abstract

This study explores the phenomena of personal growth under stress and investigates the mediating effect of leadership and four elements of group cohesion (social, task, norm, and psychological). Data were collected at the beginning and end of mandatory military training in two units ( n = 184), where the first unit was redeployed (transferred from one location to another) in the middle of the training period, and the second remained in the same physical place throughout the training period. Unit leadership and cohesion were found to mitigate the negative effect of perceived stress on personal growth; however, this effect depends on the phases of group dynamics. The modeling of structural equations revealed that social cohesion is a particularly important mediator (impact 71%) in reducing the negative impact of perceived stress on personal growth in a unit without redeployment. Meanwhile, leadership is an important mitigator when a group is in formation (at the beginning of mandatory military training, leadership mediates 15–18% of effects), as well as in the unit where the bonds between group members are weak due to physical disturbance while redeploying the unit to a new location (at the end of service, the effect of leadership is 38% in the redeployed unit). We conclude that leadership can replace a lack of social cohesion in a group with weak ties between group members and reduce the negative effect of perceived stress on personal growth. This is a new insight that allows social cohesion and leadership to be seen not only as complementary factors in group dynamics, but also as substitutes.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:16:p:10389-:d:893651
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/16/10389/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/16/10389/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandra Sefidan & Maria Pramstaller & Roberto La Marca & Thomas Wyss & Lilian Roos & Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani & Hubert Annen & Serge Brand, 2021. "Transformational Leadership, Achievement Motivation, and Perceived Stress in Basic Military Training: A Longitudinal Study of Swiss Armed Forces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Rolf van Dick & Berrit L. Cordes & Jérémy E. Lemoine & Niklas K. Steffens & S. Alexander Haslam & Serap Arslan Akfirat & Christine Joy A. Ballada & Tahir Bazarov & John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta & Lorenzo, 2021. "Identity Leadership, Employee Burnout and the Mediating Role of Team Identification: Evidence from the Global Identity Leadership Development Project," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-24, November.
    3. Shakti Chaturvedi & Irfan A. Rizvi & Enias Thomas Pasipanodya, 2019. "How Can Leaders Make Their Followers to Commit to the Organization? The Importance of Influence Tactics," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 20(6), pages 1462-1474, December.
    4. Jani P Vaara & Liisa Eränen & Tommi Ojanen & Kai Pihlainen & Tarja Nykänen & Kari Kallinen & Risto Heikkinen & Heikki Kyröläinen, 2020. "Can Physiological and Psychological Factors Predict Dropout from Intense 10-Day Winter Military Survival Training?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-15, December.
    5. Svajone Bekesiene & Rasa Smaliukiene & Ramutė Vaičaitienė & Asta Mažeikienė & Gerry Larsson & Dovilė Karčiauskaitė & Eglė Mazgelytė, 2022. "Three-Faceted Approach to Perceived Stress: A Longitudinal Study of Stress Hormones, Personality, and Group Cohesion in the Real-Life Setting of Compulsory Basic Military Training," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-13, January.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Trygve J. Steiro & Glenn-Egil Torgersen, 2020. "Preparedness and Multiagency Collaboration—Lessons Learned from a Case Study in the Norwegian Armed Forces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-10, September.
    9. Deversi, Marvin & Kocher, Martin G. & Schwieren, Christiane, 2020. "Cooperation in a Company: A Large-Scale Experiment," IHS Working Paper Series 15, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    10. van Dick, Rolf & Cordes, Berrit L. & Lemoine, Jérémy E. & Steffens, Niklas K. & Haslam, S. Alexander & Akfirat, Serap Arslan & Ballada, Christine Joy A. & Bazarov, Tahir & Jamir Benzon R. Aruta, John , 2021. "Identity leadership, employee burnout, and the mediating role of team identification: evidence from the global identity leadership development project," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112609, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Muhammad Shoaib & Ayesha Nawal & Renata Korsakienė & Roman Zámečník & Asad Ur Rehman & Agota Giedrė Raišienė, 2022. "Performance of Academic Staff during COVID-19 Pandemic-Induced Work Transformations: An IPO Model for Stress Management," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    12. Raffaella Di Schiena & Geert Letens & Eileen Van Aken & Jennifer Farris, 2013. "Relationship between Leadership and Characteristics of Learning Organizations in Deployed Military Units: An Exploratory Study," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-23, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Joseph Kwadwo Tuffour & Abubakari Mohammed Gali & Mercy Kyerewaa Tuffour, 2022. "Managerial Leadership Style and Employee Commitment: Evidence from the Financial Sector," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 23(3), pages 543-560, June.
    4. Josse Delfgaauw & Robert Dur & Oke Onemu & Joeri Sol, 2022. "Team Incentives, Social Cohesion, and Performance: A Natural Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(1), pages 230-256, January.
    5. 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.
    6. Cheng, Kuo-Tai & Chang, Kirk, 2022. "The efficacy of stress coping strategies in Taiwan's public utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Arif Budiarto & Nur Shalin Abdi & Dimas Bayu Endrayana Dharmowijoyo & Nursitihazlin Ahmad Termida & Basil David Daniel & Nur Sabahiah Abdul Sukor & Liza Evianti Tanjung, 2022. "Effects of Changes in Discretionary Trips and Online Activities on Social and Mental Health during Two Different Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-24, October.
    8. Vidmantė Giedraitytė & Rasa Smaliukienė & Tomas Vedlūga, 2022. "The Impact of Citizen Participation on Public Sentiments during Crises: Comparative Study of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.
    9. Shakti Chaturvedi & Tushar Singh, 2021. "Knowledge Management Initiatives for Tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic in India," Metamorphosis: A Journal of Management Research, , vol. 20(1), pages 25-34, June.
    10. Yushan Wu & Qinghua Fu & Sher Akbar & Sarminah Samad & Ubaldo Comite & Mirela Bucurean & Alina Badulescu, 2022. "Reducing Healthcare Employees’ Burnout through Ethical Leadership: The Role of Altruism and Motivation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-17, October.
    11. 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.
    12. Alfred Presbitero & John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta, 2024. "Reducing employee burnout in the context of a global crisis and remote work: focusing on quality of leader–member exchange, trust in leader and organizational identification," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(1), pages 32-54, February.
    13. Amir Khorram-Manesh & Frederick M. Burkle, 2020. "Disasters and Public Health Emergencies—Current Perspectives in Preparedness and Response," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-5, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:16:p:10389-:d:893651. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.