Relationships of hardiness to physical and mental health status in military men: a test of mediated effects

• Published in: Journal of behavioral medicine Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Taylor, Marcus K., Pietrobon, Ricardo, Taverniers, John, Leon, Matthew R., Fern, Benedict J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.02.2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Blood pressure; Demographic aspects; Family Medicine; General Practice; Hardiness; Health aspects; Health Psychology; Health Status; Humans; Illnesses; Male; Mediation; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Men; Mental Health; Military personnel; Military Personnel - psychology; Military service; Personality; Personality traits; Physical fitness; Psychological aspects; Resilience; Resilience, Psychological; Short forms; Stress; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; United States > US; Hardiness; Health; Mediated effects; Physical health; Mental health
• ISSN: 0160-7715; 1573-3521
• DOI: 10.1007/s10865-011-9387-8

Evidence links the personality trait hardiness to both mental (MH) and physical health (PH) status, but few unifying models delineate interrelationships of these variables. The first purpose of this study was to examine the association of hardiness to MH and PH in military men. Second, we tested the hypothesis that MH would mediate the association of hardiness with PH. Identical measures were collected in two separate, demographically-similar samples (n = 65 and n = 55). All subjects completed a background questionnaire, the Dispositional Resilience Scale-15 and the Short Form 36 Medical Outcomes Survey. Associations between hardiness, PH and MH were examined using regression-based mediation analyses followed by the Sobel test of indirect effects. In the total sample, hardiness predicted PH in an initial regression model (β = 0.37, p  < .001). When MH was added to the model, however, PH’s influence was substantially attenuated and no longer significant (β = 0.06, p  > .05). A Sobel test of significance confirmed a mediated effect ( p  < .001). Similar patterns were observed in each individual sample. Hardiness is associated with PH in military men, and this relationship is mediated by MH.