Coping Strategies and Emotional Regulation in Argentine Military Personnel

Abstract

Introduction. The objective of this study was to analyze the coping and emotion regulation strategies used by Argentine military personnel, and to explore their variations according to sex, age, years of service, and number of relocations.
Method. The Spanish version of the Ways of Coping Checklist (WCC), adapted by Richaud de Minzi and Sacchi (1995), and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) by Gross (1998), Argentine adaptation by Andrés and Urquijo (2011), were applied. The sample consisted of 113 military personnel (66 men and 48 women), selected through non-probabilistic sampling.
Results. Cognitive reappraisal (M=5.24, DE=1.05) and logical analysis (M=2.34, DE=0.45) were the most used strategies. No significant differences were found by sex in coping (F[9,10]=1.25, p=0.28) or emotion regulation (F[2,11]=3.05, p=0.05). However, with increasing age (F[18,20]=2.83, p=0.001) and seniority (F[18,20]=3.16, p=0.001), there was a greater use of proactive strategies and less emotional suppression. The number of relocations did not significantly influence the specific use of coping strategies (F[18,20]=2.37, p=0.002) nor emotion regulation (F[4,22]=1.39, p=0.237). 
Conclusions. Overall, military personnel tended to employ proactive, problem-focused strategies influenced by their institutional training. Relocations were not perceived as emotionally stressful events, suggesting their normalization within military culture.