Prioritizing competencies for soldier's mental resilience: an application of integrative fuzzy-trapezoidal decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory in updating training program.

Background: The development of resilience is of the utmost importance in military training due to the demanding and high-stress nature of combat situations. Although there have been numerous studies on resilience competencies in the military, there is a research gap when it comes to identifying the most essential competencies that should be prioritized in training programs, particularly within compressed timeframes. With the current geopolitical landscape and ongoing military conflicts in Europe, it is necessary to expedite training of soldiers, including resilience training, without compromising the effectiveness of the program.

Meaning in military service among reservists: Measuring the effect of prosocial motivation in a moderated-mediation model.

Introduction: The meaningful commitment to serve one's country and the desire to defend others make military service unique compared to other human activities. This is especially true for the army reservists who are typically working in the civilian labor market and serving military for the short-term military training or military missions only. As scholars provide limited insights into the effects and influences of prosocial motivation on meaning in military service, this study contributes to the understanding of direct, mediated, and moderated processes which link prosocial motivation to meaning in military service among reservists.

Perceived stress and hair cortisol levels amongst conscripts during basic military training: A repeated measures study.

The aim was to examine hair cortisol levels and self-reported stress amongst conscripts during their basic military training, and how they are related to four types of theory-derived determinants. The following prediction was made: lower levels of perceived stress and hair cortisol will be associated with: (1) higher levels of emotional stability (the individual nonmilitary aspect); (2) a lower degree of private life problems (the contextual nonmilitary aspect); (3) more positive attitudes toward the military, higher engagement in military service, and higher adaptability to military conditions (the individual-military aspect); and (4) stronger group cohesion and better leadership (the contextual-military aspect). The sample consisted of a total of 107 male Lithuanian conscripts.

Hair Cortisol, Perceived Stress, and the Effect of Group Dynamics: A Longitudinal Study of Young Men during Compulsory Military Training in Lithuania.

Previous research shows a nonlinear dependency between hair cortisol concentrations and perceived stress levels. This may be due to stress being targeted at the individual level despite it also being a social phenomenon which is often affected by group dynamics. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the influence of perceived stress on the hair cortisol level, considering the impact of the variables of group dynamics (interpersonal, task, and norm cohesion).

The Association between Endogenous Hair Steroid Hormones and Social Environmental Factors in a Group of Conscripts during Basic Military Training.

This study aimed to analyse the association between endogenous hair steroid hormones as reliable biological indicators of an individual's stress level and the social environmental factors experienced during military training that are manifested at the beginning of compulsory military service. Hair steroid hormone concentrations-cortisol, cortisone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and testosterone-in a group of 185 conscripts were measured using the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. Six subjective social environmental factors in the military-attitude towards the military and military service, adaptation to the military environment, team, task, and norm cohesion, as well as psychological (un)safety in the group-were evaluated using military-specific research questionnaires.

The change in the amount of immunoglobulins as a response to stress experienced by soldiers on a peacekeeping mission.

Purpose: Recent studies have demonstrated various changes in systemic and mucosal immunity in people undergoing psychological stress. This study was designated for an assay of associations between the stress experienced by Lithuanian soldiers as a response to changed job conditions (deployment to Afghanistan) and level of immunoglobulins. Salivary and sera immunoglobulin concentrations were assessed and compared before and after the military mission; the associations between the deployment-related stress and the immunoglobulin level were examined.

Hypercholesterolemia and smoking habits of Lithuanian military personnel.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, namely, hypercholesterolemia and current smoking, among 25- to 54-year-old men and women among Lithuanian active duty military personnel.

Methods: Serum cholesterol levels were measured enzymatically for 200 persons (126 men and 74 women). Interviews regarding smoking habits were performed for 82.

Anthropometrical data and physical fitness of Lithuanian soldiers according to the sociodemographic characteristics.

The aim of this study was to assess the anthropometrical data and physical fitness of soldiers according to the sociodemographic characteristics during one-year compulsory military service. The height and weight of 197 soldiers were measured at the beginning and at the end of their service, and body mass index was calculated. The physical fitness was evaluated using index of ability on the basis of 2 km walking test.

Age-related maculopathy and consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits in urban elderly.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the rate of age-related maculopathy among elderly males and females in relation to frequency of consumption of fresh vegetables and fruit. During ophthalmological investigation of Kaunas city inhabitants aged 65-74 years (240 males and 206 females) age-related maculopathy (early and late) was determined for 22.1% of males and 20.