Achievement Motivation and Resilience among Services Selection Board (SSB) Candidates —The Role of Selection Outcome and Number of Attempts

The Services Selection Board (SSB) is widely recognised as one of the most psychologically demanding pathways for entry into the Indian Armed Forces; yet the psychological characteristics of its candidates remain largely unexplored in the empirical literature. The present study investigated achievement motivation and psychological resilience among SSB candidates (N = 73), comparing those who were rejected with those who were successful, and examining the role of number of SSB attempts across both groups. A cross-sectional quantitative design was employed. Achievement motivation was assessed using the Achievement Motivation Scale (Deo & Mohan, 1985) and resilience using the Brief Resilience Scale (Smith et al., 2008). Independent samples t-tests revealed no significant difference between rejected and successful candidates on either achievement motivation or resilience. However, Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant positive association between achievement motivation and resilience across the full sample. The number of SSB attempts was found to have a significant positive correlation with resilience across the full sample, with this association being particularly pronounced among successful candidates. These findings represent the first empirical evidence on the psychological profile of SSB candidates in India, and underscore the need for further research in this understudied population. The study offers implications for candidate mentoring, psychological support, and the development of interventions aimed at fostering resilience and perseverance among defence aspirants.