Military Identity Project

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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.

Detailed Description
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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.

Official Title
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Identifying the Core Content of Military Identity for Psychological Understanding

Conditions
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Military Identity, Self-schemas, Psychological Well-being

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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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

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 | 
| 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 | 
| 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 | 
| 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 | 
| 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 | 
| 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 | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Military Identity, Military psychological health, Active Duty, Well-being, Readiness, Self and Identity, Self-Schemas