Service members are confronted with a range of psychological stressors in a high-stress occupational context like the military. Such stressors range from chronic exposure to uncertainty and threat of danger, to exposure to potentially traumatizing events. This exposure can result in decremements in health and performance and have impact on the team and on mission performance. The goal of this research opportunity is to develop potential interventions designed to reduce the risks associated with exposure to military-related stressors. Such interventions require a clear identification of the potential problem, the identification of potential modifiable moderators, and the testing of evidence-based interventions.

 

There are many gaps in understanding how Service members, teams and leaders can best be supported in managing threats to psychological health, well-being and resilience.  These gaps include, but are not limited to, interventions at the individual level, at the team level, and at the leader level. Potential candidate interventions should address fieldable methods for enhancing emotion regulation and boosting cognitive functioning.

Moreover, combat stress reactions (CSRs) have the potential to impede team performance and mission effectiveness, yet there are no evidence-based interventions for addressing CSRs. In collaboration with international colleagues, there has been recent progress in creating a protocol for team members responding to a CSR during a combat-related event but there is still a dearth of evidence regarding the prevalence of CSRs, the degree to which interventions are successful, and the degree to which these interventiosn are perceived as useful by stakeholders. The current research opportunity is designed to reduce the risk of CSR and the potential for point-of-injury interventions for CSR that faciltiate rapid return to functioning.

Ultimately, the goal of this research opportunity is to support the translation of research, and the rationale, assessment and development of training programs for novel interventions in coordination with existing efforts at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). There is a great deal of literature on these topics; see citations below for examples of how resilience initiatives can potentially be integrated into high-risk organizations.

 

Adler, A. B., Gunia, B. C., Bliese, P. D., Kim, P. Y., & LoPresti, M. L. (2017). Using actigraphy feedback to improve sleep in soldiers: An exploratory trial. Sleep Health, 3(2), 126–131. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2017.01.001.

Adler, A. B., Saboe, K. N., Anderson, J., Sipos, M. L., & Thomas, J. L. (2014). Behavioral health leadership:  New directions in occupational mental health.  Current Psychiatry Reports, 16, 484-491. doi: 10.1007/s11920-01484-6.

Cacioppo, J. T.,  Adler, A. B., Lester, P. B., McGurk, D., Thomas, J. L., Chen, H., & Cacioppo, S. (2015). Building social resilience in soldiers: A double dissociative randomized controlled study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109, 90–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000022

key words

Combat Stress Reactions; resilience; readiness; psychological health; PTSD; team; early intervention; optimization; skills

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents and non-U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral and Senior applicants