Resilience Assessment and Intervention in the Fleet

Abstract

This project on resilience was conducted at the Basic Enlisted Submarine School in Groton, CT. The study involved enlisted submariners in two cohorts or classes. Surveys on resilience, and other validated constructs, were given at 4 different time points over an 8-week training period. One class (the Control group) only received the surveys; the other class (Treatment group) received a resilience building intervention. Results show that submariners in both classes rate resilience consistently and at a high level (Somewhat Agree 6, on a 7 point Likert scale) and as such, the intervention did not appear to be a deciding factor. Additional analyses show that for all participants, resilience is the key explanatory factor for reducing stress and increasing well-being. That is, the ability to frame challenging situations positively (measured at T1 and T2) does not increase well-being and reduce stress at T4, unless submariners report high levels of resilience.