(PS4-86) Evaluating an Adaption of the Warrior Identity Scale for Active-Duty Service Members

Abstract Text:

Introduction: Military service members' (SMs) immersion within military culture can contribute to their developing a distinct military identity (Yamada et al., 2013; Smith & True, 2014). While this identity can promote resilience and unit cohesion, emphases on distress tolerance and personal sacrifice may have detrimental effects upon SMs' mental health, relationships, and job performance (Bryan et al., 2012).

In 2015, Lancaster and Hart developed the Warrior Identity Scale (WIS) with the goal of capturing military identity in American SMs. Lancaster, Kintzle, and Castro (2018) then excerpted 34 items from the initial WIS item bank to create a seven-factor WIS-Revised (WIS-R). Evaluations of both the initial WIS and WIS-R have also provided evidence of relationships between certain aspects of military identity and negative psychosocial outcomes in veterans. However, due to the tailoring of language and content specifically to veteran populations in previous versions of the WIS, this measure may not be appropriate for use with active-duty SMs without adaption to suit this new population.

Objective: Design and evaluate an adaption of the Warrior Identity Scale for use with American active-duty SMs.

Methods: Scholars and military leadership adapted WIS-R items to create the Active Duty Revision of the Warrior Identity Scale (ADR-WIS). 414 active-duty enlisted U.S. Army soldiers (91.7% male, 68.4% rank E1-E4, 57.4% aged 18-24 years) completed the ADR-WIS in a battery of online study measures. Examination and refinement of the ADR-WIS' factor structure was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and bivariate correlations were conducted to determine if relationships with warrior identity previously observed in veterans are also observed in active duty soldiers.

Results: An initial CFA demonstrated poor fit for the ADR-WIS to the WIS-R's seven-factor structure, χ²(329)=2001.482, p < .001, RMSEA=.111 (>.08) with 90% CI [.106,.116], CFI=.925, TLI=.914, SRMR=.087); however, after removing five cross-loaded items, the revised ADR-WIS model demonstrated good fit, χ²(209)=620.594, p < .001, RMSEA=.069 ( <.08) with 90% CI [.063,.075], CFI=.981 (> .95), TLI=.977 (>.95), SRMR=.040( <.08). Internal consistencies for each subscale, as well as the total ADR-WIS score, ranged from adequate to excellent (α=.73 to .93).

Significant positive correlations were observed between ADR-WIS score and purpose in life (r=.37), flourishing (r=.38), and psychological flexibility (r=.37). Significant negative correlations were observed between ADR-WIS score and anxiety (r=-.23), suicidality (r=-.23), functional impairment (r=-.28), depression (r=-.39), and PTSD (r=-.39).

Conclusion: Findings indicate a strong sense of military identity is conducive to active-duty SMs' wellbeing and performance in similar ways that its disruption can be detrimental to veterans after separation from service. Future research could identify aspects of military identity unique to active-duty service, as well as strategies for maintaining benefits of military identity through separation.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are those of the authors, and do not represent official positions of the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, or the U.S. Government