A Comparison of Distress Tolerance, Spiritual Well-Being and Conflict Management among Native and Nonnative Soldiers in a Military Organization

The present study deals with a comparison of distress tolerance, mental health and conflict management among native and nonnative soldiers in a military organization.

The research population included 750 single soldiers. They were in service in fall, 2017, had served 5 to 17 months of their military service and their education level was from the fifth grade of primary school to high school diploma. From among them, a sample of 250 soldiers was selected using the multi-stage sampling method and Morgan Table. Considering the research method and native/nonnative criterion, the sample was divided into two groups, and they answered the Distress Tolerance Scale, the Polotzin and Elison's Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire and the Robbins’ Conflict Management Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).

The results indicated a significant difference between the two groups in distress tolerance (F=105.224, p<0.001), but they were not different in spiritual well-being. It was further revealed that, in conflict management, the difference between the two groups was meaningful in compromise style (F=75.62, p<0.001), but in the other two methods (competition and avoidance) no difference was observed.

Considering the results, we can conclude that native soldiers have higher distress tolerance ability than nonnative ones, and they utilize compromise as an efficient conflict management method.