AbstractsRecreation

Military staff are repeatedly exposed to stressful and unpleasant traumatic life events. These can cause psychological injury, leading to mental and emotional stress. The stigma of mental health problems in military settings runs deeper than in civil society. Being admitted with mental health problems while serving can be a career stopper, but at times can also be associated with cowardice or malingering. It is the primary responsibility of the military to maintain and promote high military/combat readiness among staff. The change in focus of modern military forces, such as the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), with units being deployed more often, places greater demands on troops. Such operations call for increased training exercises, planning sessions and equipment inspections. Training emphasizes discipline and integrity as the core values of the BDF. These form a foundation for healthy and successful coping strategies. The morale of employees is the starting point for measuring their wellness. Morale in the military is embedded in the fitness programs. These are biased towards military training, creating physical fitness, mental alertness and the qualities of military preparedness. The programs are normally involuntary, mandated through the commander, and form part of a soldier‘s military duties. Military recreation, morale and welfare programs were introduced as a way to provide soldiers with the opportunity to relax and rejuvenate. Recreation serves as a powerful tool for achieving an optimal experience, motivating people to change and improve their health and wellness. The problem identified for this study was that members of the BDF were exposed to situations in a military context, as well as in their personal lives, which caused stress. It was postulated that BDF members had little knowledge or the resources to utilize appropriate recreation-related coping strategies. The study aimed primarily to explore the use of sport and recreation activities in military settings as means to reduce and manage stress. To achieve this goal, it was necessary first to determine the current sport and recreation participation of BDF staff members, then to assess their existing stress levels, their overall psychological well-being, and any dysfunctional behaviours resulting from stress. On the basis of these findings, a Therapeutic Recreation Stress Management Intervention Model was proposed, designed to reduce stress and promote the psychological well-being of BDF members. A survey was carried out using a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the collected data, offering a basic description of the data through frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, variances and relationships. Inferential statistics were used to draw conclusions from the data collected, giving the various factors. The results revealed that the BDF was a male-dominated institution, recruiting soldiers between the ages of 18 and 44, most of whom had some level of education. Most of the staff…