The Military Life Scale: a measure of perceived stress and support in the Israeli Defense Force

• Published in: Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 33 - 44
• Main Authors: Zohar, Ada H, Shen, Gila, Dycian, Anat, Pauls, David, Apter, Alan, King, Robert, Cohen, Donald, Kron, Shmuel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Israel Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences 2004
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Armed forces; Child development; Humans; Israel; Male; Military personnel; Military Personnel - psychology; Military service; Perception; Pilot Projects; Psychopathology; Reproducibility of Results; Social Support; Society; Stress, Psychological - diagnosis; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Young adults; Israel
• ISSN: 0333-7308; 2617-2402

The purpose of this study was to construct a reliable and valid measure of perceived stress and support by adolescents in the Israeli military, and to explore its structure and psychometric properties. A large stratified sample of soldiers, representing different types of units, different lengths of service in the Israel Defense Force, and different ranks, were administered the Military Life Scale. Principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation resulted in a 5-factor structure for the stress scale, and a 5-factor structure for the support scale. All factor-derived scales showed satisfactory scale reliability and discriminant validity. The Military Life Scale is useful for measuring the stress experienced by individuals and groups within the Israel Defense Force. In addition, the Military Life Scale may be of use in other military environments, and with minor revision, in non-military environments in which the normative passage from late adolescence into adulthood occurs, such as a college setting.