Resilience is understood as an acquired skill which aids in coping with acute and chronic stress. Accordingly, the present study aimed to determine the effect of resilience training on mental health problems during chronic stress. To this end, we conducted a quasi-experimental study with 127 male cadets (mean age: 21 years) of the Swiss Armed Forces officers' school. Whereas the intervention group (IG) received resilience training in addition to the standard officer's education program, the control group (CG) completed the officers' school as usual. Data assessment included pre- and post- measurement of chronic stress, symptoms of depression, and vital exhaustion in both groups. Motivation for training was collected before the first training session. Those who received the resilience training reported no change in chronic stress, whereas participants in the CG showed a significant increase in chronic stress over time (ηp2 = 0.025). Furthermore, significant differences between IG and CG were only found for symptoms of depression: Participants in the IG reported significantly decreased symptoms of depression, while this was not the case for participants in the CG. Within the IG, participants' training motivation strongly influenced the effectiveness of the resilience training. More specifically, motivated individuals were more likely to benefit from the resilience training than unmotivated ones. Outcome data suggest that resilience training appeared to favorably affect chronic stress and related mental health symptoms; however, the motivation for the training seemed to be an essential prerequisite.
Keywords: chronic stress; resilience training; symptoms of depression; training motivation; vital exhaustion.