Impact of positive-skill training on general health and spiritual well-being of soldiers

Background and Aim: Depression, anxiety and incompatibility are common in soldiers, and positive psychology seeks to focus on positive aspects rather than on disabilities and weaknesses. This study aims to investigate the effect of positive-skill training on the general health and spiritual well-being of soldiers. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study and the population was soldiers in two cities in the west of Iran from 2016 to 2017. A total of 150 soldiers were selected using the convenience method. Soldiers were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (N=75) or the control group (N=75). Before and one month after intervention, soldiers in both groups was assessed by completion of demographic questionnaires: the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and Ellison and Palutzian's Spiritual Well-being (SWBS( Questionnaire. A four-session intervention was given to the experimental group over one month. No training was given to the control group. Results: A total of 67 soldiers in the intervention group and 70 soldiers in the control group were included in the final analysis. The mean age of the experimental and control groups was 19.4±1.1 years, and the mean duration of military service was 10.8±2.2 months and 12.4±1.9 months, respectively. The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of age, marital status, education, smoking, physical activity, and the presence of specific disease. The positive training method had a moderate effect on the general health and spiritual well-being of soldiers (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results showed that the positive training method can be used as an effective method for increasing the general health and spiritual well-being of soldiers.