The contribution of wartime, pre-war, and post-war factors to self-efficacy: A longitudinal study of combat stress reaction

The current study is designed to investigate factors that shape combat-related self-efficacy expectations following breakdown in combat, and changes in the relative importance of each of these factors as time elapses. In the current study, a sample of Israeli frontline soldiers in the Israel Lebanon War (1982) who were diagnosed as having combat stress reaction was followed-up 1, 2, and 3 years after combat. At these three points of time, we assessed their psychiatric status and combat-related perceived self-efficacy. In addition, we gathered information about the soldiers' behavior and affect during battle, their adjustment prior to military training, the number of wars in which they had participated, and whether they broke down in these prior wars. Results show that self-efficacy following war was influenced by the specific characteristics of events that occurred during the war, the soldiers' current psychiatric status, and their adjustment prior to military training. In addition, it was found that with the passage of time, the importance of the characteristics of the trauma diminishes, and other factors take precedence. The results were discussed in terms of Bandura's conceptualization of self-efficacy.