Refinement and Validation of a Military Emotional Intelligence Training Program
Abstract
The goal of the proposed project is to provide the Army with a brief, well-validated, internet-based training program for enhancing Emotional Intelligence (EI) and resilience skills. Consistent with Fiscal Year 2015 Joint Warfighter Medical Research Program, this project will address the needs outlined for the Military Operational Medicine Research Program, particularly with regard to enhancing Psychological Health and Resilience. The fundamental approach of the project directly addresses the need to "develop psychological resilience among Service members and families to promote well-being and prevent behavioral health outcomes." Addressing this need is crucial, as military personnel are often required to serve under dangerous and emotionally stressful conditions. Prolonged stress or exposure to very intense life-threatening experiences, such as those encountered in combat or other hazardous duty deployments, can increase the risk of developing mental health problems including depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One possible way to minimize the effects of these stressful experiences on Service members is to strengthen their emotional flexibility, adaptability, and capacity to cope with adversity before they find themselves faced with such situations. To fill this need, we propose to provide the military with a web-based program that focuses on enhancing Emotional Intelligence (EI), a core set of trainable emotional skills that collectively include the capacity to understand, perceive, control, and use emotions effectively. In our pilot work, we recently developed and tested a preliminary version of such a program, which successfully increased overall EI scores in a sample of healthy individuals. While successful, the pilot program needs further research before it is ready for widespread use. We therefore propose to build upon the existing strengths already in the program and redesign the weaker modules to be more effective. Over the course of a 4-year study, we propose to develop this program through a six-step process: (1) Redesign and improve the content of the modules in consultation with emotion experts. (2) The new modules will undergo a cyclic revision process by administering them to small groups, assessing their effectiveness, revising the content and repeating the cycle until each module is highly effective. (3) The efficacy of the revised version of the program will be tested in a large sample of healthy individuals. (4) A subgroup of participants will also undergo functional neuroimaging to identify the neural mechanisms of change produced by the program. (5) The final program will then be tested in a sample of ROTC cadets during a stressful military training exercise to see if it improves their ability to cope effectively with stress and enhances their performance. (6) The final program will be tested in a sample of active duty Soldiers prior to deployment to see if it is successful at reducing rates of mental health issues upon their redeployment home. The proposed EI training program is brief, web-based, easily accessible, and sufficiently focused such that it could be completed by large numbers of military personnel with minimal time burden, leading to rapid enhancement of emotional skills. Such a program could have a significant effect in promoting resilience, interpersonal functioning, and brain health among Service members and their families, while reducing the likelihood of mental health problems among those returning from exposure to potentially traumatic experiences.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 31, 2017
- Source ID
- W81XWH1610062
Entities
People
- William D. Killgore
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Arizona