The Comparison of Mental Health, Personality Traits, and Psychological Empowermentin the Two Groups of Newly Arrived and Discharged Soldiers

Background: paying attention to psychological issues and characteristics of military service is one of the points that senior planners and commanders must assess. this study aimed at comparison of mental health, personality traits, and psychological empowerment in the two groups of newly arrived and discharged soldiers.material and method: in the present correlational cross-sectional study, 604 soldiers serving in the barracks of kerman province in 2021 were studied. cluster sampling was used to select the statistical sample from the two barracks of martyr ashraf ganjavii and martyr bahonar of the police force. three characteristics of mental health, personality traits, and psychological empowerment were compared in the two groups. the chi-squared and independent t-tests were used in data analysis.results: two hundred fifty-seven people (42.5%) were in the group of newly arrived soldiers, and 347 people (57.5%) were in the other group. the average scores of the discharged group in all aspects of mental health were lower than those of the newly arrived group (p<0.05). the average scores of two dimensions of neuroticism and extraversion in the discharged group were significantly higher than that of the newly arrived group (p<0.05). also the two groups had a significant difference in competence score (p=0.048).conclusion: the mental health score in the discharged group was significantly lower than that of the newly arrived group. consequently, it may be better to use psychological and clinical consultants and doctors for appropriate interventions to increase mental health, such as education, counseling, and psychotherapy.