Stress management through therapeutic recreation in the Botswana Defence Force

Abstract

Military staff are repeatedly exposed to stressful and unpleasant traumatic life events. These can cause psychological injury, leading to mental and emotional stress. The stigma of mental health problems in military settings runs deeper than in civil society. Being admitted with mental health problems while serving can be a career stopper, but at times can also be associated with cowardice or malingering. It is the primary responsibility of the military to maintain and promote high military/combat readiness among staff. The change in focus of modern military forces, such as the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), with units being deployed more often, places greater demands on troops. Such operations call for increased training exercises, planning sessions and equipment inspections. Training emphasizes discipline and integrity as the core values of the BDF. These form a foundation for healthy and successful coping strategies. The morale of employees is the starting point for measuring their wellness. Morale in the military is embedded in the fitness programs. These are biased towards military training, creating physical fitness, mental alertness and the qualities of military preparedness. The programs are normally involuntary, mandated through the commander, and form part of a soldier‘s military duties. Military recreation, morale and welfare programs were introduced as a way to provide soldiers with the opportunity to relax and rejuvenate. Recreation serves as a powerful tool for achieving an optimal experience, motivating people to change and improve their health and wellness. The problem identified for this study was that members of the BDF were exposed to situations in a military context, as well as in their personal lives, which caused stress. It was postulated that BDF members had little knowledge or the resources to utilize appropriate recreation-related coping strategies. The study aimed primarily to explore the use of sport and recreation activities in military settings as means to reduce and manage stress. To achieve this goal, it was necessary first to determine the current sport and recreation participation of BDF staff members, then to assess their existing stress levels, their overall psychological well-being, and any dysfunctional behaviours resulting from stress. On the basis of these findings, a Therapeutic Recreation Stress Management Intervention Model was proposed, designed to reduce stress and promote the psychological well-being of BDF members. A survey was carried out using a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the collected data, offering a basic description of the data through frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, variances and relationships. Inferential statistics were used to draw conclusions from the data collected, giving the various factors. The results revealed that the BDF was a male-dominated institution, recruiting soldiers between the ages of 18 and 44, most of whom had some level of education. Most of the staff members came from the lower ranks and had experienced one or more deployments since being recruited into the military. The results further indicated that BDF staff members participated in sport and recreation activities, reflecting an active and healthy lifestyle, with satisfactory levels of involvement. Analysis of stress responses revealed that members experienced stress and that this was related not just to operational or non-operational military stressors but also to personal stressors resulting from their social, financial or emotional conditions. Members of the BDF did not receive the necessary social support from family members and friends to cope with these stressors. The findings on stress in relation to sport and recreation participation revealed that BDF members were intrinsically motivated to embrace healthy lifestyles which could contribute to lower levels of stress. This could even lead to a decrease in stress, supporting the literature which indicates that engaging in physical activities, as part of living a healthy lifestyle, might lead to a reduction in stress levels. The results on the stress-coping measures used by BDF members revealed that recreation activities were deliberately used to cope with stress. Although physical exercise was used as a way of coping with stress, sedentary recreation activities were more prevalent among BDF members. Positive stress-coping measures were adopted by respondents, contrary to the findings of previous studies which indicated that military staff adopted dysfunctional behaviour as a coping measure (e.g. excessive drinking) that formed part of the military culture. The stress-coping abilities of BDF members differed in terms of personal and military demographics from those of previous studies, posting a new contribution to military literature. The results further revealed that BDF members were not sufficiently skilled in coping with stress during military training. This study concluded that the Botswana Defence Force is no different from other military forces, experiencing operational and non-operational stress, as well as personal stress, which need to be addressed. Recommendations were made for further research on stress in military contexts and further guidelines were suggested to the BDF on the use of sport and recreation, together with more specific therapeutic recreation, as ways to reduce stress. A Therapeutic Recreation Stress Management Intervention Model was recommended for further testing in the BDF, as well as in other military forces.