Pedro Guimarães, Helena Mateus Jerónimo, Paulo Lopes Henriques
{"title":"Beyond gender stereotypes: The lack of gender-typed behaviors in Portuguese Army careers.","authors":"Pedro Guimarães, Helena Mateus Jerónimo, Paulo Lopes Henriques","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2651476","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2026.2651476","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Military institutions worldwide maintain strong organizational cultures characterized by male-oriented values, strict hierarchy, and formal authority, and the Portuguese Army exemplifies these traditional military attributes. But despite increasing gender integration efforts, questions remain about how gender impacts career progression within this structured environment. Therefore, this study investigated gender-based behavioral differences and career dynamics within the Portuguese Army through a qualitative analysis of 40 semi-structured interviews with officers across ranks, ages, and genders. The research revealed persistent gender stereotypes creating career advancement obstacles for female soldiers, particularly around physical evaluations and maternity leave policies. While the study found no evidence of gender-specific behavioral patterns among officers (concerning agentic and communal behaviors), it identified clear institutional barriers. These findings underscore the need for targeted reforms, including enhanced gender awareness training, transparent communication about diverse evaluation criteria, and revised maternity leave review procedures. This research contributes to understanding gender integration challenges in military contexts while providing actionable recommendations for creating more equitable career progression pathways.</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147521388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David R Glerum, Ryan P Royston, Garett N Howardson
{"title":"Systematic review approaches for identifying and evaluating assessments: A demonstration advancing strategic talent decision-making in the U.S. Army.","authors":"David R Glerum, Ryan P Royston, Garett N Howardson","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2646104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2026.2646104","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The 2024 U.S. Army Talent Assessment Strategy (ATAS) established a unified vision for leveraging assessments to transform and modernize how the Army makes personnel decisions across the Soldier lifecycle. Military organizations have a number of talent management tools at their disposal that can identify which talent attributes to capture, such as job analysis to better understand tasks and the attributes required to perform them effectively, competency modeling to identify strategically relevant attributes for organizational success, and taxonomic approaches to developing systems for classifying tasks and attributes. In this article, we suggest that systematic review approaches can build upon these tools to identify, evaluate, and recommend strategically relevant talent assessments to military organizations. We provide a demonstration of this practice to identify valid and reliable assessments capable of measuring talent attributes contained in the Army Talent Attribute Framework (ATAF), the Army's universal framework of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) critical to successful performance across positions. For each assessment, we documented information on features that may influence decisions for use (e.g. practical considerations such as response format, number of items). We applied a systematic review approach to academic, commercial, governmental, and public sources, identifying 69 evidence-based assessments that could be used to assess the top 30 most highly rated officer KSAOs identified in a recently conducted Army-wide job analysis. We discuss several directions for future work and implications of this approach (e.g. facilitating automated battery assembly).</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147513394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sara Kintzle, Eva Alday, Justin Jaesung Lee, Vanessa T Goncalves, Mary Rose Mamey, Carl A Castro
{"title":"Factors that impact risk for suicide in U.S. veterans: Exploring differences between men and women.","authors":"Sara Kintzle, Eva Alday, Justin Jaesung Lee, Vanessa T Goncalves, Mary Rose Mamey, Carl A Castro","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2648345","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2026.2648345","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Suicide remains a significant challenge in the U.S. veteran population. The study explored factors that increase risk for suicide in men and women veterans. Data were collected online from 3188 Southern California Veterans. Respondents completed measures of loneliness, depression, PTSD, social support, physical health, pain, sleep problems, and suicide risk. Bivariate logistic regressions were performed with all variables and suicide risk. Significant variables were then included in a multivariate regression analysis. Veterans who were men and met the criteria for probable loneliness, depression, and PTSD, reported low social support, poor physical health, pain, insomnia, increased alcohol use, suicide exposure, and housing insecurities were at increased risk of suicidality. Most variables remained significantly associated with suicide when included in the multivariate model. Women veterans had similar bivariate results; however, only depression and PTSD remained significant in the multivariate model. The findings demonstrate that men and women veterans may experience suicide risk differently, having important implications for suicide prevention.</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147491185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Whitney S Livingston, Kathryn Bouskill, Elena Younossi, Carl Castro, Angeles Esmeralda Sedano, Eric R Pedersen, Jordan P Davis
{"title":"When military-to-civilian transition support falls short: A qualitative assessment of transition needs among U.S. Veterans.","authors":"Whitney S Livingston, Kathryn Bouskill, Elena Younossi, Carl Castro, Angeles Esmeralda Sedano, Eric R Pedersen, Jordan P Davis","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2643571","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2643571","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many federal agencies and nonprofit organizations support military service members transitioning back to civilian life. Yet, veterans still report that many of their transitioning needs are not being met. Studies aimed at assessing the needs of veterans during the transition process largely include homogenous samples that lack the diverse gender, racial, and ethnic identities found among current and future populations of veterans. The current study interviewed 50 post-9/11 veterans and oversampled for women and racial and ethnic minority veterans to examine potential gaps in transition supports and the challenges they faced while transitioning out of the military. Veterans described use of federal and nonprofit transition support, though also reported receipt of support from civilian organizations that do not necessarily focus on supplying transition resources, such as university career centers. Some veterans reported challenges following separation, such as with securing mental health care, stable housing, financial stability, and adjusting to civilian workplace communication styles. Drivers of transition challenges included being uninformed about available resources and the increased cost of living. Strengthening awareness among civilian organizations on their potential to support veterans during transition and delivering personalized resources that may streamline access to supports, such as for healthcare and housing, may improve transition support.</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13288258/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147486770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ana Pinto, Soraia Oliveira, Paulo Renato Lourenço, Carla Carvalho
{"title":"Mediating the path to group development and effectiveness: The role of team knowledge management in militarized police.","authors":"Ana Pinto, Soraia Oliveira, Paulo Renato Lourenço, Carla Carvalho","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2637399","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2026.2637399","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In militarized environments, effective knowledge management is critical for team adaptability and performance under operational challenges. This study examines how team knowledge management processes mediate the relationship between group development and team effectiveness in militarized police teams. This study surveyed 2400 participants from 211 militarized police teams within the Portuguese Guarda Nacional Republicana. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, structural analysis, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The results revealed that knowledge management partially mediated the relationship between group development and effectiveness. Specifically, in early development stages, knowledge management reversed the negative impact on group effectiveness. In later stages, both direct and mediated effects were positive in group effectiveness, highlighting the value of mature team processes and structured knowledge sharing. These findings underscore the importance of targeted strategies to integrate military and policing roles, improve information-sharing mechanisms, and foster adaptability to optimize performance in high-stakes environments. Future research should investigate the long-term effects and intervention-based approaches to enhance these processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147344591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand, Haakon Gabrielsen Engen, Amy B Adler
{"title":"\"Crawl, walk, run\": A graded approach to integrating mental skills for psychological resilience in training for large-scale combat operations.","authors":"Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand, Haakon Gabrielsen Engen, Amy B Adler","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2612680","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2026.2612680","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Modern large-scale combat operations (LSCO) combine high-tech weapons such as drones and advanced sensors, with low-tech tactics like trench warfare and massed infantry assaults. The Russian invasion of Ukraine illustrates key LSCO features: limited cover and concealment, high casualty rates, and little opportunities for respite or recovery. Such conditions place extraordinary psychological demands on service members. Beyond preparing troops with tactical training, this environment requires explicit practice of mental skills under operational stress. This paper presents findings from the Operational Resilience Training (ORT) program, a U.S.-Norwegian collaboration designed to build mental readiness for LSCO. ORT has been delivered to Ukrainian service members rotating in and out of frontline duty. The course follows a \"crawl, walk, run\" progression: instruction (\"crawl\"), structured field practice (\"walk\"), and high-intensity simulations that test skills under duress (\"run\"). This approach allows trainees to internalize and apply mental skills such as controlled breathing, attention control, and peer support during the preparation, performance and recovery phases of a mission. Evaluation data indicate that ORT is well-received and leads to significant increases in confidence of abilities to help oneself and others manage combat stress. Anecdotal reports suggest that ORT techniques are being successfully applied in real combat settings by both novice and experienced personnel. Thus, the current paper describes ORT skills and implementation practices aimed at maintaining performance and well-being among troops in current and future LSCO environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147344435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jordan P Davis, Whitney S Livingston, Liv Canning, Shaddy K Saba, Eric R Pedersen, Carl A Castro, Ricky N Bluthenthal
{"title":"Childhood trauma and everyday discrimination: Associations with psychological and physiological health.","authors":"Jordan P Davis, Whitney S Livingston, Liv Canning, Shaddy K Saba, Eric R Pedersen, Carl A Castro, Ricky N Bluthenthal","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2633087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2026.2633087","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Childhood trauma and discrimination are two experiences that are of particular importance in the development of psychological and physiological problems. The current study aims to 1) identify patterns of childhood trauma and everyday discrimination and 2) explore predictors of class membership and how classes relate to alcohol use, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia, and pain. Data for the present study come from the 24-month follow-up (<i>N</i> = 937) of a longitudinal study of veteran behavioral health. Latent class analysis extracted classes of childhood trauma and discrimination, and latent class regression identified whether sex, race, and ethnicity were related to class membership. Mean differences in psychological and physiological health outcomes were assessed across emergent classes. A five-class model best fits the data. Veterans who identified as racial or ethnic minority were more likely to be in the three classes with high childhood trauma, high discrimination, or both (odds ratios: 8.38-35.3). Veterans with both high childhood trauma and discrimination reported the highest symptoms of PTSD, alcohol use, and pain. Our results underscore those veterans with more exposure to adverse and traumatic events, including childhood trauma and everyday discrimination, are at greater risk for health concerns.</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147290429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
James C West, Joshua C Morganstein, David M Benedek
{"title":"Combat and operational stress control in large-scale combat operations: Moving beyond medical intervention.","authors":"James C West, Joshua C Morganstein, David M Benedek","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2635926","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2026.2635926","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Modern combat and operational stress control practices have increasingly placed responsibility on medical support while de-emphasizing the role of the unit. While advancements in telehealth have proven beneficial in recent conflicts, future wars against near-peer adversaries will likely eliminate or severely restrict this capability. Similarly, restricted movement of casualties and medical personnel will necessitate support from psychiatrically distressed and impaired within their units on the battlefield with limited medical support. Experience in the war in Ukraine supports these assumptions. This paper will examine strategies to maximize direct support for distressed and impaired personnel. This includes advances in self-care, buddy aid/peer support, and leadership actions as therapeutic interventions for combat and operational stress reactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147284441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah Marie Peterson, Matthew Moore, Melissa M Wasserman
{"title":"Engaging service members and military spouses in the post-deployment transition: A program evaluation of the Brothers at War workshop intervention.","authors":"Sarah Marie Peterson, Matthew Moore, Melissa M Wasserman","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2630613","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2630613","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reintegration following military deployment can pose significant, multifaceted challenges for service members (SM) and their families, often marked by psychological distress, relational strain, communication difficulties, and diminished social support. The Brothers At War Workshop (BAWW) is a film-assisted, trauma-informed intervention designed to support post-deployment reintegration. Grounded in the documentary Brothers At War, the workshop engages SMs and their families through a structured sequence of film viewing, psychoeducation, journaling and reflection, resilience skills, and facilitated dialogue led by military-connected Resilience Trainers (RTs). This mixed-methods program evaluation analyzed responses from 1284 workshop participants who completed a brief 9-item satisfaction survey immediately following their BAWW participation. Quantitative analyses demonstrated overwhelmingly high levels of satisfaction across all domains, with consistently positive mean ratings. Thematic analysis of qualitative responses supports the positive trends in the mean ratings overall. Major qualitative themes that emerged include: film-assisted storytelling, facilitation, community connectedness, and family integration. Findings underscore BAWW's potential as a culturally responsive, community-based alternative to conventional reintegration programs. The integration of emotionally evocative media with structured, peer-led dialogue fosters psychological safety, engagement, and the development of applicable resilience skills. These results support expanding access to family-inclusive, trauma-informed reintegration programming and call for future longitudinal research to evaluate long-term outcomes and inform systemic change within military transition care.</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146165888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lucian Tatsa-Laur, Alexander J Rice, Joscelyn E Fisher, Mona Al-Bizri, James C West, David M Benedek, Robert J Ursano, Stephen J Cozza
{"title":"Exposure to death in large-scale combat operations leadership's role in addressing stress, grief and moral injury.","authors":"Lucian Tatsa-Laur, Alexander J Rice, Joscelyn E Fisher, Mona Al-Bizri, James C West, David M Benedek, Robert J Ursano, Stephen J Cozza","doi":"10.1080/08995605.2026.2623591","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2026.2623591","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Large-scale combat operations (LSCO) represent sustained, high-intensity warfare with near-peer adversaries involving massive casualty volumes. Military projections suggest 3000 casualties per day, approaching World War II intensity levels. LSCO will expose military personnel to continuous confrontation with death, producing psychological effects that threaten force preservation and mission continuity. Traditional centralized behavioral-health systems will be unable to sustain operations effectively under conditions of continuous exposure, contested evacuation, and specialist unavailability. Leadership emerges as the primary mechanism for force preservation, with influence increasing precisely when followers face the greatest threat. This narrative review examines three areas: (1) psychological consequences (stress reactions, grief, moral injury); (2) vulnerable populations (infantry, junior leaders, medics); and (3) leadership interventions including transformational leadership and grief-informed command practices. In contrast to centralized models, we propose a three-level operational framework: immediate unit-level peer support, embedded resource utilization through medics, chaplains, and behavioral health officers, and delayed professional intervention when feasible. This model positions leadership as the central mechanism for sustaining the fighting force amid continuous death exposure.</p>","PeriodicalId":18696,"journal":{"name":"Military Psychology","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146157800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}