Military Identity Project

Psychological Well-being Clinical Trial

Official title:

Identifying the Core Content of Military Identity for Psychological Understanding

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04261842
• Other study ID #: FDG20180009E
• Secondary ID: HU00011820041 N1
• Status: Completed
• Start date: April 7, 2020
• Est. completion date: December 31, 2021

Study information

• Verified date: March 2022
• Source: David Grant U.S. Air Force Medical Center
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

The Military Identity Project is an exploration of military identity in Active Duty Service Members of the Army, Navy, Air Force & Marine Corps. The purpose of this project is to discover common identity attributes shared by active duty members across Service branches and to see if specific traits are related to levels of well-being and resilience.

Description:

Rationale: Psychological health (PH) disorders continue to be the highest consumer of inpatient bed days and are in the top 10 diagnoses for Active Duty Service Members (ADSM) lost duty days and appointment utilization. Cognitive therapies (CT) are the evidence-based choice for PH conditions. Little is known about the cognitive contents of Military Identity (MI) and the potential for identifying specific cognitive vulnerabilities and resources common in ADSMs. Understanding the role of MI in common military PH conditions can inform the development of new military-specific clinical strategies for CTs.

Study Objective: To validate findings from a pilot Military Identity (MI) study utilizing a self-schema model to determine core cognitive contents of MI and to explore relationships between MI and psychological well-being (PWB).

Specific Aims:

Aim 1: Describe the core cognitive content of MI in active duty service members.

Aim 2: Examine the effect of MI on information processing response times.

Aim 3: Explore the relationship between MI and self-perceived psychological well-being scores.

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional mixed methods content analysis and a four-group information processing paradigm will be utilized to investigate a stratified sample of ADSMs across Joint Services (25% sample from each Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine).

Methods: Open-Ended and Closed-Ended Identity Attribute Tasks will be used to explore MI content as well as a 60 attribute response time task along with a demographic questionnaire, Inclusion of In-group in Self Scale, and Ryff's PWB Scales. All measures will be collected via computerized software program developed by Harvard's Project Implicit.

Dissemination of Results: Results from the study will be disseminated through publications, poster and/or podium presentations at professional annual conferences such as the American Psychological Association (APA), Military Health Systems Research Symposium, Association of Military Surgeons United States (AMSUS), and Tri-Service Nursing Research Program (TSNRP). Manuscripts will be submitted for publication to appropriate journals such as Military Psychology, Military Behavioral Health, and Military Medicine.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 115
• Est. completion date: December 31, 2021
• Est. primary completion date: February 19, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• An active duty member of the US Army, US Air Force, US Marine Corps, US Navy

• Willing to complete the online identity tasks requiring approximately 45 minutes

Exclusion Criteria:

• Civilian

• Guard or Reserve Service Members

• U.S. Public Health Service Member

• U.S. Coast Guard Service Member

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Military Identity
• Psychological Well-being
• Self-schemas

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	David Grant USAF Medical Center	Travis Air Force Base	California

Sponsors (7)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
David Grant U.S. Air Force Medical Center	San Antonio Military Medical Center, Tripler Army Medical Center, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, University of Rochester, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Womack Army Medical Center

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

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* Note: There are 66 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Open-ended Identity Attribute Task (Task 1)	Participants will enter up to 9 attributes that represent how they think about themselves as a military member and using an 11-point scale rate each attribute according to: Self-descriptiveness (How much does this attribute really describe me?), Importance (How important is this attribute to who I am as a military member?) and, Valence (How positive or negative do I consider this attribute in myself?).	15 minutes
Primary	Identity Attribute Response Time Task (Task 2)	The Response Time task will involve participants striking specific keys on the keyboard to endorse or reject 70 pre-determined attributes (10 practice attributes; 60 randomized experimental attributes) as self-descriptive.	3 minutes
Primary	Demographic Questions (Task 3)	The participant will respond to six demographic items: gender, Service branch, rank, active duty service time, number of deployments, and whether raised in a military family.	2 minutes
Primary	Inclusion of In-group in the Self Scale (Task 4)	The Inclusion of In-group in the Self Scale (IIS) is a single-item measure that is adapted easily and administered quickly for studies involving membership in many different groups. The scale of 1 to 7 is represented by seven pairs of circles representing level of identification with the military; participants will be asked to choose the pair of circles that best represents their own level of identification with the military. The pair of circles labeled "1" (no overlap) represents the lowest level of identification with the military. The pair labeled "7" (almost complete overlap) represents the highest level of identification with the military. The score represents a self-report of a participant's level of identification with a group, and is not by itself indicative of a better or worse outcome.	1-2 minutes
Primary	Closed-ended Identity Attribute Task (Task 5)	The Closed-ended Identity Attribute Task (CIAT) provides a list of 60 attributes generated through methods established in the social psychological sciences. Using an 11-point scale, the participant must rate each attribute according to: Self-descriptiveness (How much does this attribute really describe me?), Importance (How important is this attribute to who I am as a military member?) and, Valence (How positive or negative do I consider this attribute in myself?). The CIAT uses the same 60 attributes presented as experimental stimuli in the Identity Attribute Response Time Task (Task 2).	10 minutes
Primary	Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-being (Task 6)	The Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-being (PWB) is comprised of six 9-item scales (54 total items) of psychological well-being constructed to measure the dimensions of autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life and self-acceptance. Participants will respond to statements using a scale of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 6 (Strongly Agree). Scores from the 54 items are summed; the higher the total score = the higher the PWB.	10 minutes