Motivation, cohesion, satisfaction, and their relation to stress fracture among female military recruits

The purpose of this study was to compare ratings of motivation, satisfaction, self-efficacy, and cohesion between male and female soldiers undergoing basic training (BT) in a gender-integrated unit and to study whether the ratings differ in a subgroup of women who suffered stress fractures (SF) during the course of training. Data were collected from 3 different companies of an integrated combat unit using questionnaires that were completed by 41 male and 160 female soldiers (age 18.5 ± 0.4 years) at 3 phases during their BT (0, 2, and 4 months). In these questionnaires, the subjects were asked to evaluate their motivation, cohesion, satisfaction and self-efficacy. The presence or absence of bone overuse injuries was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or bone scintigraphy (BS). In addition to comparing parameters between females and males, female soldiers who sustained SF during BT (n = 18) were analyzed as a separate sub-group (FSF). In general, females in a gender-integrated combat unit were more motivated and satisfied with their service than their male counterparts. Overall, the stress fractures were associated with lower ratings of motivation, self-efficacy, and satisfaction expressed by the FSF sub-group.