ISSN: 2225-8329
Open access
The negative impact of psychological and physiological stressors, such as sleep deprivation, energy deficits, and combat stress, on the resilience of Malaysian military cadets, which may compromise their mental well-being, training effectiveness, and overall performance in military training. This study examines the prevalence of resilience among Malaysian military cadets, with a focus on the role of age, gender, and race as risk factors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 887 cadets at the Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), utilizing the Dispositional Resilience Scale to assess commitment, control, and challenge as dimensions of resilience. The findings reveal that resilience was perceived as moderate across all subdimensions, with younger cadets (aged 19-21) particularly showing a moderate perception of resilience. Gender differences were observed, with male cadets demonstrating slightly higher resilience scores than their female counterparts. Racial differences indicated that Indian cadets scored the highest in challenge, while Chinese cadets had the highest scores in commitment. However, statistical analyses revealed no significant differences between gender or race and overall resilience, although age was significantly differences with commitment and control. These results suggest that while demographic factors may influence certain aspects of resilience, the interplay between these factors warrants further exploration, especially in light of the study's skewed gender and racial distribution. This study underscores the need for targeted interventions to foster resilience, particularly among younger and female cadets.
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