An assessment of perceived social support among naval personnel

Studies from the Indian Navy have found junior sailors to have higher occupational stress than senior sailors. Positive social support can provide protection against detrimental effects of stress and facilitate in development of individual resilience. Therefore, the present study was conducted to explore the level of perceived social support among naval personnel.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted using "Interpersonal Support Evaluation List" (Cohen and Hoberman, 1983) among personnel posted on a capital ship of the Indian Navy. Five hundred sixty-eight sailors voluntarily participated in the study.

Personnel living on board (in-living) were found to have significantly lower overall perceived social support score (76.14 ± 13.72) than personnel living in family accommodation (79.40 ± 14.14). In addition, in-living personnel were also found to have lower subscale scores viz "appraisal support", "self-esteem support", and "belonging support" (p < 0.05) but not "tangible support" score (p > 0.05).

Our study brings out that young in-living sailors lack perceived social support. These young in-living sailors, being away from their families, often feel isolated and fall prey to social media, which in turn aggravates feeling of isolation and leads to psychological distress. Therefore, it is important for these individuals to have confidence in his mess mates and belief in commanders who form their primary sources of social support. To ensure this, it is the need of the hour to revitalize the age old divisional system by introduction of concepts of "Keep Your Mates Safe", "promotion of psychological resilience", and so on.