Enhancing resiliency and optimizing readiness in military personnel through psychological flexibility training: design and methodology of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Enhancing resiliency and optimizing readiness in military personnel is a high priority for the U.S. Department of Defense. Most military resiliency-enhancement programs are evidence-informed interventions. However, few randomized studies have demonstrated efficacy of any intervention or training program to enhance resiliency and prevent the development of psychological health symptoms in military personnel when exposed to operational stressors. This manuscript provides an overview of the theoretical foundation, research design, and research methods of a preventive intervention trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of a training program to enhance resiliency and prevent psychological health symptoms in military personnel. The resiliency training intervention is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an evidence-based intervention with broad empirical support for improving functioning in those living with psychological and medical conditions. Method/design: This study will evaluate the efficacy of a two-day training program based on ACT for fostering psychological flexibility, the central target in ACT, for enhancing resiliency, and for preventing the development of psychological health symptoms. The research participants will be a non-clinical population of active duty military personnel (N = 600). The ACT-based training program (n = 300) will be compared to a military resiliency training as usual, known as Master Resilience Training (n = 300). Assessment measures will be administered at the baseline assessment, after training, prior to a military deployment, and after returning from a deployment. Qualitative interviews will be conducted to provide feedback on the training program.Clinical Trial Registration: NCT05094115.

Latent classes of child neglect types and associated characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Children who experience neglect typically endure multiple types of neglect and abuse during a single maltreatment incident. However, research on the phenomenology and predictors of neglect types has primarily examined neglect types in isolation. OBJECTIVE: To advance understanding of neglect incidents that more accurately reflect the experiences of children who have been neglected, we examined latent classes of neglect defined by co-occurring neglect types and multiple forms of abuse. To inform efforts to identify families at-risk for particular classes of neglect, associations between child, parent, and family characteristics and latent classes were examined. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 390 child neglect incidents substantiated at U.S. Army installations. METHODS: Neglect types and incident severity were coded using the Modified Maltreatment Classification System. Child, parent, and family characteristics were coded using information drawn from case records. RESULTS: Latent class analysis yielded 5 classes: exposure to violence, failure to provide, supervisory lapses, substance-related endangerment, and non-specific. The exposure to violence and substance-related endangerment classes were characterized as highly severe. High and low severity classes were associated with distinct child, parent, and family characteristics. The latent classes were also differentiated by distal outcomes, including probability of law enforcement investigation, child removal from home, and offender removal from home. CONCLUSIONS: By identifying the types of neglect and abuse that are likely to occur concomitantly as well as the child, parent, and family characteristics associated with increased risk of latent classes of neglect, results advance knowledge regarding the phenomenology of neglect types and inform prevention efforts.

Planning for Mental Health Needs During COVID-19.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The ability to effectively prepare for and respond to the psychological fallout from large-scale disasters is a core competency of military mental health providers, as well as civilian emergency response teams. Disaster planning should be situation specific and data driven; vague, broad-spectrum planning can contribute to unprepared mental health teams and underserved patient populations. Herein, we review data on mental health sequelae from the twenty-first century pandemics, including SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19), and offer explanations for observed trends, insights regarding anticipated needs, and recommendations for preliminary planning on how to best allocate limited mental health resources. RECENT FINDINGS: Anxiety and distress, often attributed to isolation, were the most prominent mental health complaints during previous pandemics and with COVID-19. Additionally, post-traumatic stress was surprisingly common and possibly more enduring than depression, insomnia, and alcohol misuse. Predictions regarding COVID-19's economic impact suggest that depression and suicide rates may increase over time. Available data suggest that the mental health sequelae of COVID-19 will mirror those of previous pandemics. Clinicians and mental health leaders should focus planning efforts on the negative effects of isolation, particularly anxiety and distress, as well as post-traumatic stress symptoms.