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Psychological strength is increasingly recognised as a critical psychological asset for sustaining performance and persistence within military training environments. This study examined the predictive roles of locus of control and basic psychological need satisfaction on organisational commitment among military trainee cadets at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM). Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 887 cadets undergoing structured military training. Locus of control was measured using the Work Locus of Control Scale, basic psychological needs were assessed using the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale, and organisational commitment was measured using the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire. Correlation analyses revealed that internal locus of control and all three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) were positively associated with organisational commitment, whereas powerful others and chance locus of control were negatively related. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the overall model explained 46.1% of the variance in organisational commitment. Autonomy emerged as the strongest predictor, followed by relatedness, competence, and internal locus of control. In contrast, powerful others and chance locus of control did not contribute significant unique variance. These findings highlight the central role of psychological need satisfaction, particularly autonomy, in fostering organisational commitment in military training contexts, while suggesting that externalised control beliefs may hold limited explanatory power once motivational processes are accounted for.
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