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Facing Adversity and Factors Affecting Resilience

A Qualitative Analysis of the Lived Experiences
of Canadian Special Operations Forces

Isabelle Richer, PhD*; Christine Frank, PhD

ABSTRACT
Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel are required to health outcomes among SOF personnel has provided mixed re-
withstand considerable physical and psychological hardship. sults. Studies tend to show that the prevalence of self-reported
Research examining resilience and mental health among SOF mental health symptoms is lower among SOF personnel than
personnel is limited and has provided mixed results; in addi- among conventional military personnel. 1,4–6 However, research
tion, minimal research has been undertaken on the subjective indicates that SOF personnel report higher rates of maladap-
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experiences of adversity and the process of resilience among tive coping strategies, such as risky alcohol use, and a recent
SOF personnel. This unique qualitative study describes the study reported a marked increase in suicide rates among US
lived experience of Canadian SOF personnel, the challenges SOF personnel. Very little research has explored the process of
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they face, and the factors they believe impact their resilience. resilience and the subjective factors that affect resilience among
Seventy Canadian SOF personnel participated in in-depth, SOF personnel. Given the degree of stress placed on SOF per-
semistructured interviews. A thematic analysis of the inter- sonnel and the importance of their operational effectiveness to
views revealed that operational demands, paired with an or- national security, it is important to understand how SOF per-
ganizational culture of performance, were important stressors sonnel experience and cope with adversity as well as to iden-
for most participants, negatively affecting both themselves tify the individual and environmental factors SOF personnel
and their families. SOF organizations select members with believe help them maintain or enhance their resilience.
resilient characteristics; however, the same characteristics
that make these members resilient also lead to self-imposed Because of the complexity of resilience, it has been concep-
pressure to perform and avoidance of proper recovery time. tualized in different ways in the research community; there-
Team members were reported to help such members process fore, it is important that researchers provide a clear definition
difficult or traumatic experiences and facilitate their seeking of resilience in their research. This study defined resilience as
care. Findings provide insight into the adverse experiences that the ability to both maintain and return to previous levels of
participants encountered while serving in a SOF organization well-being and functioning or even thriving when faced with
and the intertwined individual, social, and organizational fac- a notable stressor, adverse experience, or traumatic event in
tors affecting their resilience. Results point to the importance the training, garrison, or operational environment or at home
of managing and mitigating the impact of high operational (adapted from reference 8). Equally important in defining
tempo and a culture of performance to protect the health and resilience is specifying whether resilience is a characteristic, a
wellness of SOF personnel and their families. process, or an outcome. In this study, resilience was consid-
ered an attribute, a process (i.e., the skills and strategies SOF
Keywords: Special Operations Forces members; mental personnel use to maintain or increase their resilience, and the
health; coping; work-family conflict; team cohesion; organi- factors that decrease their resilience), and an outcome (i.e., ex-
zational and individual resilience factors periencing symptoms of mental health issues and deterioration
of well-being and functioning).
Characteristics of resilience are often examined at the individ-
Introduction
ual level; however, failure to consider the social and organiza-
SOF personnel are required to perform physically and psycho- tional environment in which the individual is situated results in
logically demanding tasks both in garrison and while deployed. too narrow a focus. Demonstrating the importance of environ-
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They are frequently deployed in harsh, austere, and unstable mental factors, the author of one study found that when indi-
environments and are exposed to stressful and potentially trau- viduals were exposed to high levels of adversity, environmental
matic experiences while in combat. In addition to enduring factors (e.g., stable and safe communities) had a stronger in-
1–3
considerable physical and psychological stress, members must fluence on their resilience than did individual factors, such as
also balance operational requirements and the responsibili- individual vulnerabilities and dispositional resilience traits.
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ties of family life. The selection process is meant to generate In this research, therefore, we adopted a more comprehensive
a resilient and robust force able to successfully perform the approach to resilience among SOF personnel by also exploring
job-related demands. Nevertheless, research examining mental social and organizational characteristics of resilience.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (Department of National Defence), 2020.
*Correspondence to isabelle.richer@forces.gc.ca or christine.frank@forces.gc.ca
Dr Richer and Dr Frank are affiliated with Director Research Personnel and Family Support, Director General Military Personnel Research and
Analysis, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

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