Psychological Training Of Soldiers At Plateau Mode

Objective:Stationed at the border of Highland, servicemen not only executed various types of difficult and perilous task in the case of dangerous environment with high-altitude, bad weather, strong wind, heavy snow, intense radiation, cliffs and rocks everywhere, but also have to attend to border security emergencies. These servicemen usually face with great pressure, some with poor mental state even fall into abnormalities and mental illness,which are extremely unfavorable to ensure the health and maintaining combat effectiveness of servicemen. The literature data showed that emotionally unstable people were more likely to lead to severe altitude reaction. People who maintain good mental state can effectively reduce the incidence of acute and chronic altitude sickness.Therefore, carrying out regular psychological training actively, conducting psychological training for the plateau troops can strengthen their understanding of the adverse psychological phenomenon and improve their resistance to these phenomenon as well as psychological adaptability to high altitude. Psychological training will rectify theservicemen's psychological problem and help them maintain a healthy mentality and lower rate of altitude stress so as to sustain or improve their combat effectiveness.Domestic researches on mental health have established norms of concepts, structure,test instruments and special groups. Although researches about psychological training have accumulated rich theoretical basis as well as quite a few research methods and a tentative approach has made to psychological training pattern of soldiers, few studies focus on mental health and psychological training on servicemen under special conditions,especially that of servicemen station at high land. Therefore, this study was conducted to:(1) Investigate mental health features and issues of plateau servicemen;(2) Establish a psychological training pattern for plateau servicemen and evaluate training effect.Subjects and methods:This research consists of two parts.In order to study the status and features of plateau service men's mental health, the first part surveyed 4538 active duty soldiers who stationed at high altitude area with general questionnaire and Symptom Checklist 90,the result of which can provide basis for carrying out specific psychological training and helping these soldiers maintain their mental health.The second part is about carrying forward psychological training of different types and contents in accordance with mental features and issues confronted by servicemen in highland. 160 servicemen from the 16 th army vehicles regiment of Tibet Military Area were grouped randomly and trained with such psychological training plans established by experts as cognitive behavior training, sandplay therapy and biofeedback training. Among all groups, the blank controlled ones are not treated distinctively. Conducting psychological training of different patterns for each group as planed and the training results were evaluated in stages. The concrete methods are as following. SCL-90,Perceived Social Support Scale and Interpersonal Trust Scale were used as questionnaires,and use group biofeedback instrument to test physiological index. Modifying and improving training plans and contents on the basis of data so as to make the psychological training more reasonable and efficient, and simpler in carrying out with troops in highland.Results:The overall status and features of plateau service men's mental health.Mental health status of servicemen stationed at highland is significantly lower than the norm. The number of plateau servicemen whose SCL-90 total score surpassed 1 point was 1084, which took 23.89% of total numbers of 4538. High altitude military personnel whose positive items of SCL-90 surpassed 43 were 682(15.03%). The number of altitude military whose each factor average scores of SCL-90 were above 3 points was 1088(23.98%). Comprehensive results show that plateau servicemen who can be selected as positive were 1402, accounting for 30.89 percent of the total. In short, the level of altitude soldiers' mental health was low.Compared to the norm, soldiers at plateau whose average total score of SCL-90 and each factor average scores of SCL-90 which contain Somatization, hostility, paranoia, psychotic and other factors average scores were significantly higher(p <0.01). In addition to the phobic,overall psychological level,showing the quality of the best officer, non-commissioned officers followed the trend of soldiers worst characteristics(p <0.01). Education level, in addition to anxiety and phobic,the aggregate performance of mental health by the level of education the more, the better the psychological quality characteristics(p<0.01). The average total score and other factors average scores of SCL-90 increasing with rising trend of military service(p<0.01), the results showed that the longer military service, the worse the quality of psychological characteristics. On marital status, the average total score and other factors average scores of SCL-90 of married soldier were significantly higher than unmarried soldiers(p<0.01). These results showed that mental health status of servicemen station at highland has been obviously affected by marital status and family factors. The average total score and other factors average scores of SCL-90 of high altitude military personnel who stationed at different altitude was not significant difference(p >0.05). Altitude difference doesn't have significant influence on the mental health status of servicemen.Survey results showed that, psychological training improved mental health of soldiers at high altitude. Questionnaire results of military personnel in high altitude area before training, after training, a month after training and three months after training are different.Mental Health was improved in different degrees. The results showed that psychological training can effectively improve the mental health of soldiers at plateau. The results are as follows:Before training,the mean score on SCL-90 between experiment group and control group had no significant difference(p >0.05). Immediately after training, the mean score on SCL-90 of each experiment group was significantly decreased, compared with control group. A month after training, the mean score on SCL-90 of cognitive behavior training group was lower than control group(p <0.01). the mean score on SCL-90 of sandplay group was lower than control group(p <0.05). The mean score on SCL-90 of biofeedback training group was not significant difference(p >0.05). Three months after training, the mean score on SCL-90 of each experiment group was not significant difference, compared with control group(p >0.05). The results suggest that, after training,the mean score on SCL-90 incresed with time. The average total score of PSSS between experiment group and control group had no significant difference(p >0.05). Compeared with control group,the mean scores on PSSS of each experiment group immediately after training and a month after training had no significant difference.Three months after training, average total score on PSSS of Sandplay group was significantly higher than the control group(p<0.05). The average total score on PSSS of other two groups and control group had no significant difference(p >0.05). Before training,the total mean scores of ITS between experiment group and control group had no significant difference(p >0.05). Immediately after training, ITS total score of cognitive behavior training group and sandplay group increased significantly, compeared with control group. A month after training and three months after training, ITS total score of each experiment group had no significant difference,compeared with control group(p >0.05).The results of this second part of Biofeedback instrument group showed that,psychological training improve the mental health status of soldiers at plateau to different degree. Physiological index of soldiers at plateau before psychological training, a month after training and three months after training had significant difference. The results showed that mental health status have different degrees of improvement.Before training,physiological index of experiment group and control group had no significant difference(p>0.05). After training, physical relaxation index, mental relaxation index and the mean value of SDNN?RMSSD?PNN50?TP?HF?LF?VLF?LF/HF were significantly higher than control group(p <0.01). But the mean value of HF of sandplay group and control group had no significant difference(p >0.05). A month after training,physical relaxation index, mental relaxation index and the mean value of SDNN, RMSSD,PNN50, TP, HF, LF, VLF, LF/HF of experiment group and control group had significantly improved(p <0.01); But the mean value of HF and LF/HF of cognitive behavior training group and biofeedback training group had no significant difference, compeared with control group(p >0.05). Three months after training, physical relaxation index, mental relaxation index and the mean value of SDNN, RMSSD, PNN50, TP, HF, LF, VLF, LF/HF of experiment group had significantly improved(p <0.01). But HF and LF/HF of Biofeedback training group and control group had no significant difference(p >0.05).Conclusion:Mental health status of servicemen stationed at highland is significantly lower than the norm. The health status of soldiers, sergeants and officers shows a downtrend. The more educated the soldiers are the lower mental health status they have. Mental health status of servicemen station at highland has been obviously affected by marital status and family factors. The education level, average age and marriage proportion of officers are well above those of soldiers, which indicate that the psychological training of soldiers at highland should be strengthened, especially the psychological enforcement work of officers. Altitude difference doesn't have significant influence on the mental health status of servicemen.The comparison results of mean scores on SCL-90, ITS and PSSS between experiment group and control group before training, after training, a month after training and three months after training are as following: although the mental health status of experiment group has been improved significantly through psychological training and the mean scores on SCL-90 of experiment group have raised in different level with time pass by, the mean score between experiment group and control group shows little differencethree months after the training ended. The results indicate that the effect of psychological training may decrease as time goes by. Meanwhile, psychological training should be carried out in accordance with the time frame of psychological changes. Testing the physiological indexes under static condition of experiment group and blank control group with group biofeedback instrument, the comparison results are as following: the each physiological index of experiment group has improved, among which the most significant ones are SDNN, RMS-SD, PNN50 and TP, VLF, LF and HF are improved in an insignificant way, and LF/HF stays around 1.5-2.0. Comprehensive results indicate that the self-regulation ability of servicemen who have been trained by psychological training has improved. Their ability to adapt to external stress also shows a trend of improvement.