To find out the relationship between the fatigue level, environment and mental status by exploring the differences in field army soldiers, naval shipboard personnel and cadets, so as to provide scientific evidences for: the promotion of health of the 3 military populations; the development of practical recommendations and countermeasures in the medical support for the 3 military populations; improvement of their life quality; and most importantly their utter devotion to national defense.

Questionnaires were conducted among the 3 military populations (field army soldiers, naval shipboard personnel and cadets) by using "the Fatigue Symptoms Questionnaire" (FSQ), "the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire" (SCSQ) and "the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire" (ATQ). The data acquired were analyzed by SPSS21 software package.

The rank of order for the seriousness of fatigue was: first the soldiers, second the naval shipboard personnel and last the cadets. From the standpoint of physical factor, soldiers showed the highest level of fatigue, followed by naval shipboard personnel and cadets. From the aspect of mental factor, shipboard personnel displayed the highest level of fatigue, followed by soldiers and cadets. In terms of sensory nerve fatigue, the rank of order for the seriousness of fatigue was: first the soldiers, second the shipboard personnel and last the cadets. For positive coping style, the rank of order from the highest to the lowest were: cadets, shipboard personnel and soldiers. The rank of order for negative coping style from the highest to the lowest was: soldiers, cadets and shipboard personnel.

The seriousness of fatigue in 3 military populations was significantly different, which might be correlated with their coping styles.

Soldiers; Naval shipboard personnel; Cadets; Fatigue; Coping style