The impact of posttraumatic growth, transformational leadership, and self-efficacy on PTSD and depression symptom severity among combat Veterans

ABSTRACT

Previous research has established self-efficacy as essential to postdeployment adjustment among Veterans, and perceived transformational leadership is well known for its positive effects on follower outcomes across contexts. However, little is known regarding how transformational leadership may relate to posttraumatic growth and self-efficacy in fostering psychological wellbeing among combat Veterans. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of transformational leadership in predicting posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms among combat Veterans, as well as how posttraumatic growth and postdeployment coping self-efficacy may influence these relations. The study sample consisted of 130 combat Veterans recruited from a university, Veterans Affairs medical center, and the greater community. Path analysis based on bootstrapped resampling revealed postdeployment coping self-efficacy and perceived transformational leadership as predictors of lower PTSD and depression symptom severity. In addition, mediation modeling revealed that postdeployment coping self-efficacy mediated the relation between transformational leadership and both PTSD and depression, while posttraumatic growth did not predict PTSD symptoms. These findings may aid in the prediction of PTSD and depression symptoms among Veterans, which may then influence pre-deployment leadership training among military personnel as well as clinical treatment protocols for Veterans.

KEYWORDS:

• Transformational leadership
• posttraumatic growth
• self-efficacy
• depression
• PTSD

Acknowledgments

This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in Palo Alto, CA, and the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, AL. The contents of this article do not represent the views of the US Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. The authors thank the Pat Tillman Foundation for helping make this manuscript possible. This manuscript is based on data also used in a doctoral dissertation.