Impact of Self-Esteem on General Health Among Serving Indian Air Force Personnel and Air Veterans

Abstract

Indian Air Force possesses the responsibility to safeguard the national airspace in conjunction with the other branches of the Armed Forces of the country.  The country has witnessed the utmost dedication of Air Force personnel for safeguarding the nation since independence.  Positive self-esteem is not only an indication of good mental health but also a contributing factor to overall psychological well-being and better health.  In this study, the sample of 116 married personnel; 58 serving Air Force Personnel and 58 Air Veterans were randomly taken across the country.  A convenient sampling method was used in this study.  This study aims to examine the impact of self-esteem on general health among serving Indian Air Force personnel and Air Veterans. For this study the behaviour tools used were Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and General Health Questionnaire-12 questionnaires.  SPSS-22 software was used for data management.  Results of the study revealed that serving Air Force personnel showed prominence in both self-esteem and general health in comparison with Air Veterans. Mean comparison of the scores on these variables showed the difference. In the domain of self-esteem, a significant difference was observed at p<0.01 level of significance and in the domain of general health, there was no significant difference between both the groups.  The findings reflect that the work environment and culture of the Air Force make conducive to the general health and self-esteem of the participants.  It is hoped that this is the first study in the context of the Indian Air Force.