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When military community closure occurs, it can be challenging for service members and the surrounding community. Given that services and social networks disappear; this is particularly salient in overseas locations. Few studies have systematically assessed the impact of base closure on military community members. In the present study, 743 soldiers, 114 Army civilian employees, and 54 military spouses living in two closing U.S. military communities in Germany were surveyed about transformation stressors, mental health, and factors associated with better adjustment such as individual coping, leadership behaviors, and community cohesion. While individual coping was associated with fewer sleep problems, and individual coping and leadership were associated with less psychological distress, community cohesion generally overrode these effects in the final step of regression models. Thus, while coping and leadership are important, community connection appears to confer benefits to the affected individuals even in the context of base closure.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have documented the impact of domain-specific leadership behaviors on targeted health outcomes in employees. The goal of the present study was to determine the association between specific leadership behaviors addressing COVID-19 and US soldiers' mental health and adherence to COVID-19 public health guidelines. METHODS: An electronic, anonymous survey was administered to US Army soldiers across three major commands (N = 7,829) from December 2020 to January 2021. The primary predictor of interest was soldiers' ratings of their immediate supervisors' behaviors related to COVID-19. The outcomes were soldiers' mental health (i.e., depression and generalized anxiety) and adherence to COVID-19 public health guidelines. Covariates were rank, gender, ratings of immediate supervisors' general leadership, level of COVID-19 concerns, and COVID-19 status (e.g., tested positive, became seriously ill). Logistic regressions were used to model the unique association of COVID-19 leadership behaviors with outcomes after adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: High levels of COVID-19 leadership behaviors were associated with lesser likelihood of soldiers' screening positive for depression (AOR = 0.46; 95% CI [0.39, 0.54]) and anxiety (AOR = 0.54; 95% CI [0.45, 0.64]), and greater likelihood of frequent adherence to preventive health guidelines (AORs = 1.58; 95% CI [1.39, 1.80] to 2.50; 95% CI [2.01, 3.11]). CONCLUSION: Higher levels of COVID-19 leadership behaviors may support soldiers' mental health and encourage their adherence to COVID-19 public health guidelines. Given the link between these leader behaviors and soldier adaptation to the pandemic over and above general leadership, training for supervisors should focus on targeting specific health-promoting behaviors. Results can inform leader training for the military and other high-risk occupations.