Spiritual Fitness, Spiritual Readiness, and Depressive Symptoms in ROTC Cadets

Abstract

Context: Over the past decade, the United States military has taken an interest in addressing soldiers' spiritual fitness and readiness to help improve soldiers' mental health and resiliency. Similar efforts have not been applied within the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) population despite the mental health challenges these college students experience. Objective: To examine spiritual readiness, spiritual fitness, and depressive symptoms in ROTC cadets. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Web-based survey. Participants: We recruited ROTC cadets from one large, southeastern university (n=91 of 315, 28.9% response rate). The ROTC cadets (age=21± 3 y; men=68, 65.7%, women=21, 23.3%, missing=1, 1.1%) were mainly classified as juniors (n=30, 33.3%) and in Army ROTC (ROTC branch: Army=69, Air Force=20, Navy=2). Main Outcome Measures: The survey contained three validated instruments used to assess spiritual fitness [the Spiritual Fitness Inventory (SFI)], spiritual readiness [Spiritual Wellbeing Scale (SWBS)], and mental health via depressive symptoms [Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)]. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric Mann-Whitney U tests to compare belief in God/gods with the dependent measures. A Pearson correlation was used to assess the relationship between the SWBS and PHQ-9 data. Results: In total, 85.7% (n=78/91) of ROTC cadets stated that they believed in God or gods. Overall, the cadets were considered to have average spiritual fitness (mean=75.04±14.89) and moderate spiritual well-being (mean=90.46±18.09). The average PHQ-9 score was 4.22±5.25. Individuals who believed in God/gods had significantly higher spiritual readiness (believer=94.44±16.10; non-believer=67.00±9.35, p=0.01). No statistically significant differences were noted for symptoms of depression (believer=3.38±4.90; nonbeliever=6.60±6.90, p=0.143) or spiritual fitness (believer=76.12±14.78; nonbeliever=64.40±12.68, p=0.054) in ROTC cadets based on belief status. Conclusions: Overall, the ROTC cadets had moderate to average spiritual fitness and readiness, with typical depressive symptoms scores. Spiritual readiness was significantly different for those who believed in God/gods, and existential well-being was significantly correlated with depressive symptoms.