Author

Corey Doan

Date of Award

January 2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Alan R. King

Abstract

There is a historical, literary, and philosophical record of the effects of combat on mental health. Modern psychological research has focused on the relationship between combat deployment and a litany of mental health issues which include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), various forms and manifestations of depression, substance abuse with a specific focus on alcohol, as well as social, family, and work-life functional impairment. This study introduces a customized 18-item Integrated Military Morale Questionnaire (IMMQ) which was designed to measure the proposed basic components of military morale: personal morale, cohesion, and esprit de corps. Data from 185 United States military members were collected using Amazon’s MTurk survey program and indicated a significant relationship between military morale and maladjustment indicators. The relationship between morale and PTSD was not significant. The IMMQ demonstrated aspects of reliability and validity and additionally, MTurk shows promise for surveying military populations. Results and implications are discussed.

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