STUDY OF LEADERSHIP UNDER STRESS IN

COMBAT AND NON COMBAT ENVIRONMENT

IN THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES

Thesis Submitted to Devi Ahilya Vishva Vidhyalaya, Indore

for the Award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in
Military Science (Humanities)
2015

Research Guide Research Scholar

Dr F R Khan Maj Gen S N Yadav
Prof. (Rett.) Deptt. of Military Science
BLP GOVT. P.G. College, Mhow(M.P)

RESEARCH CENTRE
Bherulal Patidar Government Post Graduate College, Mhow, Indore, ( MP)
 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I declare that the thesis entitled “Study of Leadership under Stress in Combat and Non-Combat
Environment in the Indian Armed Forces” is my own work conducted under the supervision of Dr. F.R.
Khan, BLP Government P.G. College, Mhow , Indore(M.P), approved by Research Degree Committee. I
have put in more than 200 days of attendance with the supervisor/at the centre.

I further declare that to the best of my knowledge, the thesis does not contain any part of any work which
has been submitted for the award of any degree either in this University or any other University/Deemed
University without proper citation.

(Research Guide) (Research Scholar)

Dr. F.R. Khan Maj Gen SN Yadav

Prof (Rett.), Deptt. of Military Science

BLP Govt.P.G College, Mhow(M.P)

Dr. Kusum Lata Nigwal

Principal

BLP GOVT. P.G. College, Mhow(M.P)

 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the work entitled “Study of Leadership under Stress in Combat and Non-Combat
Environment in the Indian Armed Forces” is a piece of research work done by Maj Gen S N Yadav,
under my guidance and supervision for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Military Science
(Humanities) of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalya, Indore (MP), India. That the candidate has put in an
attendance of more than 200 days with me.

To the best of my knowledge and belief the thesis:-

01. Embodies the work of the candidate himself.

02. Has duly been completed.
03. Fulfills the requirements of ordinance relating to the Ph.D. degree of the University; and
04. Is up to the requisite standard both in respect of contents and language for being referred
to the examiner.

(Research Guide)

Dr. F. R. Khan

Prof.(Rett.) Deptt. of Military Science

BLP GOVT. P.G. College, Mhow (M.P), India

Forwarded

Dr. Kusum Lata Nigwal

Principal

BLP GOVT. P.G. College, Mhow(M.P)

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I extend my gratitude and special thanks to Dr F R Khan for his valuable guidance and vision without
which this research work would have not been possible. He was always encouraging, positive and
provided undaunted support and advice. I also extend my gratitude to Dr. S.M. Salim, HoD, Deptt. of
Military Science, BLP GOVT. P.G. College, Mhow for extending valuable guidance and support during
the research work.

This research has been done at Deptt. of Military Science, BLP GOVT. P.G. College, Mhow associated
with Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAV), Indore (M.P), India. I extend my thanks to Prof(Rett.) Dr R K
Patidar, Dr Nina Yadav and Dr Durgeshwari Kothari , for their whole hearted support from the initial
phases of research work to final compilation. I would also like to thank Dr Sanjay Sohni of BLP GOVT.
P.G. College for his valuable and encouraging support at every stage during the course of research work
till submission of the thesis. He is full of energy and has a very positive attitude.

I would particularly like to thank my organization the Indian Army which exposed me to varying
challenges of human resource management and developed analytical approach in me to resolve the man
management issues.

My appreciation also goes to my colleagues at Army War College, Mhow for their valuable input on
various aspects of Stress and Leadership. I would also like to thank Commandant for his encouragement,
support and motivation.

Furthermore, my thanks to all my colleagues who were directly or indirectly associated with me during
research studies for their incessant encouragement and support throughout the period of research work. A
special thanks to Dr Naveen Chaudhary for his invaluable advice and guidance, especially in statistical
analysis.

Finally, a special word of thanks to my family, my wife, Mrs Krishna who always encouraged me in my
endeavor through her incessant support and motivation; my son, Rahul and daughter, Mihika who
encouraged me to make this work a reality.

Last but not the least; I express my gratitude and thanks to my parents and almighty God, for showering
upon me their blessings and grace.
 ABSTRACT

The thesis titled, “Study of Leadership under Stress in Combat and Non-Combat
Environment in the Indian Armed Forces” is a research study undertaken to
analyze the stress among leaders in combat and non-combat environment in the
Indian Armed Forces. The leaders in Armed Forces operate in an inherently stressful
environment. Their exposure to prolonged traumatic conditions in difficult and hostile
areas causes combat stress whereas stressors that arise due to service conditions in
peace areas causes non-combat stress. Leadership and the burden of responsibility in
them are themselves stress generators. The pressure to perform or deliver tangible
results, be it in an operational area or in a peace time environment, the narrow
pyramidical hierarchy and the high stakes involved, the high levels of accountability
ascribed onto a commander are some of the stresses that a leader confronts. These
stressors are threats to a leader’s judgment and his decision making skills which are
bound to impact his leadership and thus the organization. Hence, the research study
was aimed to study Leadership under Stressful environment to evolve measures
to mitigate stress so as to enable his subordinates to perform to their optimal
levels of operational efficiency. In order to achieve the aim, the complete work was
divided into three parts. The first part of the research study was based on a survey
which covered the collection of inputs from leaders at different level of hierarchy, having
exposure to combat and non-combat environment based on 60 items questionnaire.
The second part of the study involved identifying the factors that contribute to stress
among leaders in combat and non-combat environment by applying appropriate
statistical tools. In the third and final part, analysis and interpretation of result was
carried out to establish the research hypothesis and conclude the study with principal
findings and recommendations. The first part of the research study was based on sixty
items questionnaire on which response from Armed Forces leaders’ at different level of
hierarchy having exposure to combat and non-combat environment was taken through a
survey based on personal interaction. A total of 770 respondents participated in the
survey and gave their response on five point Linkert Scale. The study was
conducted at Mhow(MP) as it is a home to major training establishment of Armed
Forces and large number of officers and other Ranks undergo training at these
establishments round the year. In the second part of the study, an Exploratory Factor
Analysis (EFA) approach was used as statistical tool to analyze the respondents’
dataset using IBM Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20, to identify
the factors that contribute to stress among leaders in combat and non-combat
environment. In the third part, obtained results were analyzed and interpreted to
establish the research hypothesis and draw the principal findings, conclusions and
recommendations from the study. The entire work has been organized into seven
chapters. The first chapter, “Introduction” covers motivation for the work, research
objectives, hypothesis, thesis organization and literature survey. The second chapter,
“Stress in Armed Forces Environment” covers characteristic of Stress, stressors in
combat and non-Combat environment and manifestation of stress in Service
environment. The third chapter, “Leadership”, covers the basic aspects of leadership,
leadership styles, traits and peculiarity of leadership in the Indian Armed Forces context.
The fourth chapter, “Leadership and Stress”, covers characteristic of leadership in
Armed Forces, leadership and environmental realities, Stressors acting on leaders and
leadership challenges. The fifth chapter, “Research Design and Methodology” covers
study technique adopted to study the aspect of leadership under stress in combat and
non-combat environment in the Indian Armed Forces, the type of population covered,
questionnaire format and statistical tools used to obtain and interpret the results. The
sixth chapter “Exploratory Factor Analysis” covers the statistical analysis of
respondents’ dataset using exploratory factor analysis approach using IBM Statistical
Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and brings out the factors that contribute
to stress among leaders in combat and non-combat environment. The seventh chapter,
“Results, Analysis, Interpretation and Discussion” establishes research hypothesis that
were sought to be established, answers to the research questions and leads to findings
and conclusions from which study recommendations have been drawn. The eighth
chapter, “Stress Management” is a concluding chapter which covers principal findings,
conclusions, recommendations and recommendation for future research.
 INDEX

Chapter No. Contents Page No.

Introduction
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Motivation for Study 2
1.3 Purpose of Research 2
1.4 Rationale for the Study 2
1. 1.5 Research Objectives 3
1.6 Hypothesis 3
1.7 Thesis Organisation 4
1.8 Literature Survey 5
1.8.1 Books and Research Papers 5
1.8.2 Studies 28

Stress in Armed Forces Environment

2.1 Introduction 32
2.2 Study of Stress 33
2.3 Types of Stress 35
2.4 Classification of Stress 35
2.5 Stressors 36
2.6 Response to Stressors 38
2.7 Manifestations of Stress 39
2.8 Stress in Armed Forces Environment 40
2. 2.9 Combat and Non-Combat Stress 43
2.10 Combat Stress Reaction 43
2.11 Stressors Affecting Service Personnel 44
2.12 Environmental Realities and Stressors 49
2.13 Stressors in a Combat Environment 50
2.13.1 Conventional Operations Environment 50
2.13.2 Stressors in Low Intensity Conflict Operations 52
2.13.3 Non-Combat Stressors 54
2.14 Stress Response in Indian Armed Forces 55
2.15 Manifestation of Stress in Non-Combat Environment 56

Leadership
3.1 Leadership 58
3.
3.2 Evolution of Military Leaders in the Indian Context 59
3.3 Leadership Styles 59
3.4 Leadership Traits 61
 3.5 Universal Inner Structure of Good Leaders 62
3.6 Peculiarity of Leadership in the Armed Forces 63
3.7 Leadership in the Indian Armed Forces 63
3.7.1 Functional Level 64
3.7.2 Directional Level 64
3.7.3 Conceptual Level 65
Leadership and Stress
4.1 Introduction 67
4.2 Changing Socio-Economic Conditions and Challenges for
67
the Leaders
4.3.1 Pitfalls of Changed Socio-Economic Conditions on the
69
Armed Forces
4.3.2 Positives of Changed Socio-Economic Conditions on the
4. 70
Armed Forces
4.4 Conditions of Service and Challenges for the Leaders 70
4.5 Stressors Acting on Armed Forces 74
4.6 Stressors Acting on the Leader 75
4.7 Challenges to Higher Leadership 75
4.8 Challenges to Junior Leadership 77

Research Design and Methodology

5.1 Research Design 79
5.2 Sample Selection 79
5.3 Area of Research 80
5.4 Research Tools and Methodology 80
5. 5.5 Questionnaire 81
5.6 Format of Questionnaire 81
5.7 Handling of Questionnaire and Collection of Data 86
5.8 Service Profile of Respondents 86
5.9 Computation 89
5.10 Factor Analysis Approach 89

Exploratory Factor Analysis

6.1 Introduction 91
6. 6.2 EFA as Statistical Tool 91
6.3 Data Processing 92
6.4 Deductions 102

Results, Analysis, Interpretation and Discussions

7.1 Results 103
7.
7.2 Factor Loading and Interpretations 111
7.3 Factor Variability and Interpretations 113
 Stress Management
8.1 Principal Findings 117
8.
8.2 Three Facet Approach to Manage Stress 119
8.2.1 Actions and Measures at Leadership (Command) Level 119
8.2.1.1 Unit Level Actions 119
8.2.1.2 Actions at Organisation Level 122
8.2.2 Stress Management in Combat Environment 125
8.2.3 Management of Stress in Non-Combat Environment 126
8.2.4 Alternative Practices for Stress Management 127
8.3 Limitation of Study 129
8.4 Conclusion 129
Bibliography
131
136
A-Questionnaire
141
B-List of Published Papers
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Figure Details Page No.

1.1 Theoretical framework relating leadership to soldier health 18

2.1 Suicides cases in the Army(2003-2012) 42

3.1 Universal inner structure of a good leader 62

5.1 Place of placement of respondents 88

5.2 Service profile of respondents 88

5.3 Level of leadership participated instudy 89

6.1 Scree Plot 101

6.2 Percentage of variance among components 102

7.1 Items loading on factors 106

7.2 Factors variability 107

 LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
Table Details
No. No.

2.1 Suicides in the Army(2003-2012) 42

2.2 Mean Life Change Unit(LCU) scores of common stressful life events 45
2.3 List of undesirable life events 46

2.4 List of desirable items of the AFMC life events scale 47

2.5 Environmental realities and stressors 49

5.1 Respondents serving in combat areas 87

5.2 Respondents serving in non-combat areas 87

5.3 Service profile of respondents 87

5.4 Level of leadership 87

6.1 Description statistics of questionnaire 93

6.2 KMO and Bartlett’s test 95

6.3 Total variance of each component 96

6.4 Complete component matrix 97

6.5 Total variance of significant components with rotation sums of squared 101
loadings
7.1 Rotated component matrix with significant loading factors cut-off ≥ 0.48 103

7.2 Factors total variance 106

7.3 List of factors 107

7.4 List of Factors with items loadings 108

7.5 Summary of hypothesis status 115

 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AFMC Armed Forces Medical College

AWL Absent Without Leave
CAPOs Central Armed Police Organisations
CPO Central Police Organisations
CI Counter Insurgency
CT Counter Terrorism
DAVV Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya
EFA Exploratory Factor Analysis
FAFA Field Area Family Accommodation
FM Field Manual
GAS General Adaption Syndrome
JCOs Junior Commissioned Officer
KMO Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
LIC Low Intensity Conflict
LCU Life Change Unit
NCO Non-Commissioned Officer
NGOs Non-Government Organisations
OJT On the Job Training
OSL Overstayal of Leave
OR Other Rank
PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
SOPs Standard Operating Procedures
SPSS Software Package for Social Sciences
SUPRE-MISS Multisite Intervention Study on Suicidal Behaviours
TV Television
USA United States of America
WHO World Health Organization