Susceptibility to maladaptive responses to stress in basic military training based on variants of temperament and character

The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship of Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) scores of three groups of U.S. Air Force basic trainees. The following groups were used: those who were psychiatrically hospitalized, a control group, and a group identified as being at risk for early separation from basic training because of psychological reasons. The instrument used was the TCI. The data were analyzed with analysis of variance, Tukey post hoc comparisons, and stepwise backward discriminant analysis. The controls were found to have healthier temperament and character profiles than both the at-risk (p < 0.01) and hospitalized (p < 0.01) groups. No difference was found between the at-risk and hospitalized groups on TCI scores. The TCI was found to successfully predict 82% of controls, 25% of at-risk, and 64% of hospitalized recruits. Risk factors for maladaptive responses to stress and possible ways of primary prevention are presented.