Development and validation of a self-report adaptability measure for the military remote operations community

Abstract

Building on emerging literature, a new self-report inventory was developed to assess multiple psychological attributes relevant to adaptability in remote warriors. Literature search backed by surveys of military and psychological experts identified 32 attributes for self-report scale development. Items were sorted reliably into targeted dimensions (67.5% vs. 1.6% random) in support of content validity. Item analysis of responses from 255 U.S. Air Force remote operations Airmen (74.5% sensor operators) narrowed the set to 25 empirically distinct scales demonstrating overall strong internal consistency reliability (Mdn alpha = .83), unidimensionality per scale, convergent and discriminant validity in relations with the NEO Personality Inventory-3 (e.g. Stress Tolerance r = -.50 with NEO Neuroticism and r = .00 with NEO Openness), and criterion validity in relations with burnout (e.g., Coping Flexibility r = -.43 with Exhaustion) and psychological distress (e.g., Hardiness r = -.62). Results support the continued development of the measure for advancing understanding of the psychology of remote warfare and engagement in similarly demanding occupations.

Keywords: Adaptability; personality; remote operations; resilience; scale development.