Between Stress and Strength: A Thematic Analysis of Psychological Wellbeing Contributors among Military and Law Enforcement Officers in Pakistan

Abstract

Wellbeing of military and law enforcement officers is fundamental for combat effectiveness, operational objectivity, and career longevity, particularly in the circumstances of Pakistan, where there are hostile neighboring countries, cross-border terrorism, and internal political instability. The purpose and research question in this research was to explore psychological contributors of wellbeing in military and law enforcement officers in Pakistan. This research was qualitative in nature, and data were collected via semi-structured interviews till data saturation from a sample of N = 30 military, police, rangers and prison department officers serving in Pakistan approached via snowball and convenient purposive sampling. Data were analyzed through a thematic analysis approach using NVIVO 11, and under psychological contributors, three themes emerged: "Resilience: an adaptive and ongoing process emerging through exposure," “Emotional intelligence: a maintenance mechanism for relationships," and “coping: a multi-layered phenomenon for managing emotional overload”. Military and law enforcement officers often carry very imperative responsibility of internal and external security of country at times of peace and war. Their ability to withstand resiliently against detriments, an efficacious ability to manage and understand emotional patterns of men under command, and a capability to cope against the institutional and generalized obstacles not only upheld their wellbeing, but also minimized the chances of developing the psychological ailments.