This study investigated whether a stressful military training program, the 9- to 10-week U.S. Army basic combat training (BCT) course, alters the cognitive performance and mood of healthy young adult females.

Structured training programs including adolescent boot camps, sports training camps, learning enrichment programs, and military basic training are accepted methods for improving academic and social functioning. However, limited research is available on the behavioral effects of structured training programs in regard to cognitive performance and mood.

Two separate, within-subject studies were conducted with different BCT classes; in total 212 female volunteers were assessed before and after BCT. In Study 1, Four-Choice Reaction Time, Match-to-Sample, and Grammatical Reasoning tests were administered. The Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) was administered in Study 2. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) was administered in both studies.

In Study 1, reaction time to correct responses on all three of the performance tests improved from pre- to post-BCT. In Study 2, PVT reaction time significantly improved. All POMS subscales improved over time in the second study, whereas POMS subscales in the first study failed to meet criteria for statistically significant differences over time.

Cognition and mood substantially improved over military basic training. These changes may be a result of structured physical and mental training experienced during basic training or other factors not as yet identified.

Properly structured training may have extensive, beneficial effects on cognitive performance and mood; however, additional research is needed to determine what factors are responsible for such changes.