The psychology of risk and safety in the military: A balancing act

The primary purpose of this thesis was to examine how individual, leadership, group, and situational factors affect the risk and safety perceptions and behaviors of military personnel. A secondary purpose was to examine how first-line military leaders perceive and deal with risk and safety issues in their leadership roles. The thesis comprises three articles. The first article reports on a longitudinal study of conscripts during their compulsory military training. Results show that individual characteristics, safety beliefs, leadership behaviors, and group cohesion all do have an impact on the risk and safety attitudes of the conscripts. Significant differences in ratings of risk and safety attitudes between basic training and unit training were also found. The second article includes two different samples of rank and file and officers and shows that personality traits and socio-demographic factors are related to negative safety beliefs, as well as to the degree of risk propensity. The third article is based on interviews with military leaders with experience of high-risk military missions. A core theme identified in the study concerns the balancing of risk and safety as a key aspect of the role of the first-line military leadership. The interviews demonstrate how this balancing act underpins several challenges, related to individual, group, leadership, situational and organizational factors. In conclusion, this thesis shows the significant impact that individual, leadership, group, and situational factors can have on the perceptions of risk and safety held by military personnel. The thesis identifies factors that jointly could create a “vulnerability-chain” for maladaptive risk-taking, and factors that jointly form a “strengthening-chain” for adaptive risk-taking and safety efforts. The findings have practical implications for military selection, team composition, leadership education, and military training. The human ability to deal with risks has increasingly been coming into focus in our society. However, the research has to a great extent focused on everyday or social risks. Considerably less attention has been directed towards the individuals and groups that have to deal with dangerous and extreme environments in their professional roles, such as the military. The primary purpose of this thesis was to examine how individual, leadership, group, and situational factors affect the risk and safety perceptions and behaviors of military personnel. A secondary purpose was to examine how first-line military leaders perceive and deal with risk and safety issues in their leadership roles. The thesis comprises three articles that show the significant impact that both internal and external factors can have on the perceptions of risk and safety held by military personnel. Factors are identified that jointly could create a “vulnerability-chain” for maladaptive risk-taking, and others that jointly form a “strengthening-chain” for adaptive risk-taking and safety efforts. The findings have practical implications for military selection, team composition, leadership education, and military training.