Overview
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.
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