0219 Subjective Sleep Quality Measured Before, Predicts Psychological Safety After Simulated Combat Training. Testing the Bidirectional Link Between Sleep and Social Processes in the Military Operational Context

• Published in: Sleep (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2020-05, Vol.43 (Supplement_1), p.A85-A85
• Main Authors: Sowden, W, St. Pierre, M, Mickelson, C, Mantua, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Military training; Psychological safety; Sleep
• ISSN: 0161-8105; 1550-9109
• DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa056.217

Abstract Introduction The research on sleep in the social-psychological domain is sparse. Gordon and colleagues (Gordon, Mendes, & Prather, 2017) proposed a bidirectional relationship between sleep and social processes. The current research tests this model in the military by examining the relationship between subjective sleep quality and an important social cognitive process in the contexts of military teams - psychological safety (i.e., an individual’s perceptions of interpersonal threat in their work environment; Edmondson, 1999). Methods One hundred and twenty-eight U.S. Army tank crewmen were surveyed prior to (T1), and immediately after (T2), participating in a two-week simulated combat training exercise. Each survey included the seven-item Insomnia Severity Index (ISI; Bastien et al., 2001), which served as a measure of subjective sleep quality (SSQ), and Edmonson’s seven-item Psychological Safety Questionnaire which measured team psychological safety (TPS). A cross-lagged panel model tested the effects of SSQ and TPS over the course of the training. Results Both SSQ and TPS were stable over the two time points, SSQT1: M=2.83, SD=.85, α=.83; SSQT2: M=2.63, SD=.83, α=.83; B=.387, SE=.08, β=.397, p