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The Plymouth Student Scientist

Document Type

Psychology Article

Abstract

This study investigates the low completion rates of the British Army commando training course in 2018-2019, recorded at 20%, following concerns raised by course Directing Staff. It examines the relationship between resilience and performance in military contexts and evaluates whether resilience-building interventions can improve completion rates. To establish how completion rates could be improved, sixty-two candidates from three commando training cohorts were recruited and assigned to either a Functional Imagery Training (FIT) intervention or a control group. Interventions were delivered in week one of training with a booster in week five. FIT, a goal-centred imagery intervention, has previously improved resilience-related characteristics such as grit but has not been delivered in a military context. In this research, resilience was measured pre- and post-intervention using the Brief Resilience Scale and Directing Staff reported candidates who completed the training. Resilience and completion increased in participants who received FIT; however, when compared with the control, only resilience increased significantly (t(36) = -2.68, p = .01, 95% CI [-0.76, -0.11]; t(11) = -3.62, p = .004, 95% CI [-1.19, -0.29]). The strengths, limitations and implications of this research are discussed with reference to how the findings enhance the literature and support the delivery of FIT in a military context and suggestions for future research outlined.

Publication Date

2024-07-29

Publication Title

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Volume

17

Issue

1

First Page

52

Last Page

72

ISSN

1754-2383

Deposit Date

2024-07-29

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Additional Files
TPSS-2024-Vol17n1_52-72Yates_Supplementary_file.pdf (627 kB)
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