The Effect of Job Demands and Social Support on Peacekeepers’ Stress and Sense of Coherence After Deployment

Abstract This study investigated how experienced demands of the job and the social support during operations were related to psychological well-being after deployment. The data was collected from 817 Finnish peacekeepers returning home between 2012 and 2014 from altogether over 10 different operations of which the most common were ISAF (Afghanistan) and UNIFIL (Lebanon). Experiencing less social support and more job-related demands was related to higher stress and weaker sense of coherence after deployment, even though overall level of emotional difficulties after deployment was low. These results suggest that there may be health gains to achieve in improved social support and balancing job demands during operation. Given the highly hierarchical organization of the military, role of leadership is essential in both establishing social support and balancing the job demands.