Factors Influencing U.S. Army Personnel Meeting Body Mass Index Standards

Factors Influencing U.S. Army Personnel Meeting Body Mass Index Standards by Salma Theus MS, California State University, Dominguez Hills, 2008 BA, La Sierra University, 2005 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University September 2014 Abstract U.S. Army Regulations require soldiers to be fit, as excessive weight negatively impacts their readiness, health, and morale. A quantitative study examined if personal, behavioral, and/or environmental factors predict a soldier’s self-efficacy and body mass index. Data were obtained from 117 soldiers on 6 scales: the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, the Army Physical Fitness Test, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Stress Management Questionnaire, the Lifestyle Assessment Inventory, and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine if personal (intellectual capabilities and physical fitness), behavioral (lifestyle and stress management), and/or environmental (supervisor leadership) factors predict self-efficacy and body mass index in a convenience sample of battalion personnel. The analysis showed that lifestyle and stress management behavioral factors predict self-efficacy, whereas physical fitness predicts body mass index. In addition, there were significant correlations between self-efficacy, personal factors, and behavioral factors; between personal factors, behavioral factors, and body mass index; and between behavioral and environmental factors. Positive social change implications include the U.S. Army using these findings to promote healthy lifestyles, reduce stress, and increase physical fitness among soldiers to achieve higher self-efficacy and a lower body mass index. These findings also suggest that the military services would see better physical readiness by considering personal, behavioral, and environmental factors to meet standards.U.S. Army Regulations require soldiers to be fit, as excessive weight negatively impacts their readiness, health, and morale. A quantitative study examined if personal, behavioral, and/or environmental factors predict a soldier’s self-efficacy and body mass index. Data were obtained from 117 soldiers on 6 scales: the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, the Army Physical Fitness Test, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Stress Management Questionnaire, the Lifestyle Assessment Inventory, and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine if personal (intellectual capabilities and physical fitness), behavioral (lifestyle and stress management), and/or environmental (supervisor leadership) factors predict self-efficacy and body mass index in a convenience sample of battalion personnel. The analysis showed that lifestyle and stress management behavioral factors predict self-efficacy, whereas physical fitness predicts body mass index. In addition, there were significant correlations between self-efficacy, personal factors, and behavioral factors; between personal factors, behavioral factors, and body mass index; and between behavioral and environmental factors. Positive social change implications include the U.S. Army using these findings to promote healthy lifestyles, reduce stress, and increase physical fitness among soldiers to achieve higher self-efficacy and a lower body mass index. These findings also suggest that the military services would see better physical readiness by considering personal, behavioral, and environmental factors to meet standards. Factors Influencing U.S. Army Personnel Meeting Body Mass Index Standards Standards by Salma Theus MS, California State University, Dominguez Hills, 2008 BA, La Sierra University, 2005 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University September, 2014 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to a special soldier who died while in route to a training mission with the battalion SPC Hill (R.I.P.), to all the males and females actively engaged in the global war on terror, and to all the fallen freedom fighters. This dissertation is also dedicated to all the families, especially military brats like my own daughter, Jaiden Lynn Theus, family and friends who actively support their soldiers, admire them, and give them the energy to “Drive On. ” Acknowledgments I want to acknowledge all my professors, counselors, advisors, and editors at Walden University, California State University: CSUDH, La Sierra University, and any other school or service I have ever been to, or used. I want to give a special thank you to my dissertation committee and evaluators, Dr. John Schmidt, Dr. Thomas Edman, Dr. Sandra Rasmussen, and Dr. Karen Witherspoon. Together, my committee asked hard questions, gave excellent and speedy feedback, directives and kept me grounded during this process. I also want to thank my fellow candidates for their feedback and constructive criticism in class, as well as the participants for their selfless service and participation in this research. My acknowledgment would not be complete without a thanks to Dr. Lori LaCivita, Program Director for Organizational Psychology at Walden University, for her wisdom, patience and proactivity, the Walden Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the (DA) of the Army Human Research Protections Office (AHRPO) for their reviews and guidance for ethical compliance as well everyone who gave copyright for all tools and materials used in this research. Last but not least, I would like to thank you for reading my Dissertation and the U.S. Military (Army) for making physical fitness its first priority and the Engineer Battalion for giving me permission and the opportunity to conduct this research.