The Effect of Commanders' Leadership Abilities on Reducing Desertion, Aggression and Depression among I. R. I. Police Soldiers

The success of commanders in interacting well with conscripts as part of the I. R. I. Police body undeniably depends on their ability to influence individuals. This ability, which is called leadership in the organizational behavior literature, is the most important tool for influencing people. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of commanders' leadership abilities on reducing desertion, aggression and depression among I. R. I. Police soldiers.

In terms of its objectives this study is of an applied research type and in terms of implementation method it is considered as a descriptive-survey study. The statistical population of the study consisted of soldiers of Shahid Bigleri Training Center of I. R. I. Police in Meshkinshahr (1,035 individuals) in the winter of 2019, of whom 280 individuals were selected by stratified sampling method. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire of leadership capabilities and desertion with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.84 and 0.78 and Bass and Perry's standard aggression questionnaires (1992) and Beck's depression questionnaire (1961) with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.82 and 0.81, respectively, and analyzed using structural equation modeling via PLS software.

The study showed that all leadership capabilities of commanders in four dimensions of attitude, traits, behavior and requirements of leadership, significantly affect the reduction of desertion, aggression and depression of soldiers.

According to the findings, in a humane approach aimed at reducing soldiers' crimes, the research focuses more on developing the capabilities of commanders in its four dimensions, because the use of existing capacities for a limited number of commanders has leverage effects on cognitive and emotional attitudes. The behavior of a significant number of soldiers on duty is very logical.