Self-Perceptions of Soldiers Under Threat: A Field Study of the Influence of Death Threat on Soldiers

Abstract

This study deals with the impact of actual death threat on self-perceptions of soldiers with regard to the acceptance of the risk of dying, their performance, and their motivation to engage in a mission. The results indicate that actual death threat has a significant effect on accessibility of death-related thoughts as well as on the self-perception of the soldiers' performance, motivation, and identification with the armed forces. This study, conducted among soldiers who were deployed with the Dutch Stabilization Force in Iraq in late 2004, supports the terror management theory that has been used as its framework.

Notes

Note. ^aSignificant difference of means between the nonthreat and the threat condition at p < .05.

*p < .05 level (two-tailed).

**p < .01 level (two-tailed).

*Near significant p < .012.

**p < .006 (Bonferroni adjusted alpha level of .006).