Associations between Insomnia Severity, Perceived Stress, Mental Toughness, Dark Triad Traits, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior among Cadets of the Swiss Armed Forces

Background: Compared to the general population, military personnel are at
increased risk for insomnia and poor psychological well-being. The present
study: (1) compared categories of insomnia severity between cadets of the
Swiss Armed Forces (SAF) and previously published norms and (2) investigated
the associations between insomnia and psychological well-being
related to perceived stress, mental toughness, dark triad traits, and organizational
citizenship behavior (OCB).
Methods: A total of 216 cadets of the SAF (mean age: 20.80 years) completed
self-rating questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, insomnia,
perceived stress, mental toughness, dark triad, and organizational citizenship
behavior. Data on insomnia sum scores and categories of historical
samples (862 young adults and 533 police and emergency response service
officers) were used for comparison.
Results: Cadets of the SAF reported higher insomnia sum scores and insomnia
severity categories, compared to young adults and police officers. Higher
scores for insomnia were associated with higher scores for stress, dark triad
traits, and with lower scores for mental toughness and OCB. Categories of
low, medium, and high stress moderated the association between insomnia
and dark triad traits.
Conclusions: Compared to norms of the general population, cadets of the
SAF reported a higher insomnia severity. Given that standardized treatment
programs for insomnia, mental toughness, and above all for coping with
stress are available, such interventions might be promising avenues to
improve a cadet’s overall sleep, psychological well-being, and behavior.