Can Soldiers Combine Swords and Ploughshares? The Construction of the Warrior–Peacekeeper Role Identity Survey (WPRIS)

The modern military profession encompasses two seemingly contradictory roles, those of warrior and peacekeeper. The question is whether soldiers can identify with both roles simultaneously. In order to answer this question, an instrument for measuring the warrior and peacekeeper role identity as a multiple role construct is required. This article describes the construction of the Warrior-Peacekeeper Role Identity Survey (WPRIS), measuring the extent to which soldiers identify with the warrior and the peacekeeper role. The internal consistency and validity of the instrument are promising. Practical implications as the predictive value of military role identity for performance of soldiers during deployment in general and the buffering role of peacekeeper role identity in particular are discussed.