Military personnel experience a variety of military-centered and non-military-centered psychological stress. Investigations of cognition in military personnel have assumed a variety of neurocognitive tools that evaluate memory, visuospatial integration, reaction time, and executive functions. Such cognitive domains are seen as highly important for performance in military settings. These settings include navigating unfamiliar territory, executing orders while overcoming distractions, or reacting to unexpected threats. The modernization of warfare places extra demands on a soldier's ability to surveil and answer to different sources of information. Furthermore, in military contexts, the executive functions of inhibition, shifting, and updating are highly applicable. This pushes the belief that cognitive resilience should adopt a customized approach to take into consideration the different cognitive challenges and stressors that are particular to each separate role. 

Cognitive Resilience to Psychological Stress in the Military

6 Dimensions of Stress:
1. Isolation: Separation from friends and family
2. Ambiguity: Unpredictable nature of the mission
3. Powerlessness: Inefficiency to influence changes back home 
4. Boredom: Repetitive work
5. Danger: Risk of injury or death
6. Workload: High frequency of deployment

California Baptist University

Psychological stress is defined as the relationship between the person and the environment that is assessed by the person as demanding or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being. Stress is an involved component that mediates the stressor-response relationship. It is important to note that a person's vulnerability to stress is a result of cognitive processes between the encounter and the reaction.

Psychological Stress

Flood, A., & Keegan, R. J. (2022). Cognitive Resilience to Psychological Stress in Military Personnel. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 809003. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.809003

References for the Cognitive Resilience to Psychological Stress in Military Personnel

Based on the Transactional Theory, coping is the constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to control certain external and internal demands appraised as demanding or exceeding the person’s resources. Coping is not an automated response to a stressor but an effortful process that develops and reflects the changing nature of the person-environment encounter. Two ways of coping are highlighted within the Transactional Theory: emotion- and problem-focused coping. Emotion-focused coping is the coping strategy that is planned to regulate the emotional responses to the stressor. In contrast, problem-focused coping strategies impact or alter the stressor itself. A third category of coping is considered to be meaning-focused coping. This is where stressors continue even through the activation of problem- and emotion-focused coping. Such coping includes using beliefs, values, and existential goals to help find meaning in stressful situations and encourage coping efforts.

Cognitive Processes: Coping

Appraisal is a cognitive process that evaluates the relevance of the person-environment transactions to a person's well-being. Appraisal happens in two main forms: primary appraisal and second appraisal. These appraisal categories interact to create the extent of stress experienced by an individual and the coping approach used for any given transaction.

Cognitive Processes: Appraisal

Psychological Stress in the Military

Developing an extensive theoretical explanation of the effects of stress on cognition is difficult due to the elaborateness of stress and cognition independently. The causes of stress, how severe it is, whether or not it can be controlled, and its extent have affected changes in cognitive functioning. Specific characteristics of cognitive operation can also be detrimental to resilience against stress. The different interactions between stress-related and cognition-related factors should then be considered. Reviewing each theory presented provides a structure based on how cognitive functioning in military personnel can be made resilient to psychological stress.

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