The Influence of Developing Emotional Skills for Coping with Stressful Situations in Military Training

Abstract

This study took place at the Army Sergeant School Escola de Sargento das Armas (ESA), the educational institution responsible for training the Combat Sergeants of the Brazilian Army. This paper reports the experience on the development of emotional skills in coping with stressful situations in combat sergeant training and the effects of this intervention on students' performance, during a week of activities in a simulated combat situation. Among six groups that underwent the training week, a group of 28 (twenty-eight) students participated in the training. Behavioral techniques involving self-knowledge, behavioral rehearsals and meditative practices were used. The results collected in individual research demonstrated a positive perception in the self-assessment made by students, which was observed by reports of better anxiety control, increased performance and greater quality in the use of time. The consistency of the results of the group that received the training in the assessments that were carried out by the instruction team is significant, achieving the second-best score among the six teams that took part in the activities throughout the week.