Mindfulness Training in U.S. Army Cohorts

NCT ID: NCT03310112

Last Updated: 2018-09-18

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

120 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2017-10-09

Study Completion Date

2018-03-27

Brief Summary

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This project aims to contextualize delivery of mindfulness training to U.S. Army personnel, evaluate its effectiveness on measures of executive functions and psychological well-being, and determine best practices for its delivery.

Detailed Description

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Background: An individual's success in the U.S. Army relies on many factors including the integrity of executive functions (EFs). EFs comprise a complex, multi-faceted brain system necessary to pay attention, overcome habitual and automatic behaviors, regulate mood, and ensure that current behavior is in line with short and long-term goals.Yet, protracted periods of high uncertainty, high demands, and high stress can lead to decreases in the efficiency and availability of EFs. Given the high demands and psychological vulnerabilities that U.S. Army personnel may face, it is critical to provide them with training programs to protect against degradation of EFs (particularly attention and working memory) over high-stress, high-demand intervals. Prior research on mindfulness training (MT) in civilians and military servicemembers showed that MT can effectively protect against degradation in attention and working memory and benefit psychological well-being over high-demand intervals.

Problem: While being successful, prior MT programs required a considerable amount of time dedicated to training (e.g., 24-hour training) and it is challenging to integrate these long programs into the busy schedule of the U.S. Army personnel. To accommodate the time constraints, the principal investigator together with a mindfulness expert developed a short-form mindfulness training program contextualized for the U.S. Army; the program consists of 8-hour training and is known as MBAT, Mindfulness-Based Attention Training.

Project Goal: The present study aims to investigate the best practices for delivery of a short-form mindfulness training to U.S. Army Cohorts. Specifically, the present study will examine the best delivery structure for the MBAT by comparing MBAT course delivered in 2 weeks vs. 4 weeks.

Conditions

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Psychological Stress Anxiety Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Depression Cognitive Change

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Participants will be assigned into three groups: (i) a 4-week MT group (MT4, n = 40) that will receive MBAT in 4, 2-hour sessions over 4 weeks; (ii) a 2-week MT group (MT2, n = 40) that will receive MBAT in 4, 2-hour sessions over 2 weeks; (iii) a no-training control group that will be tested before and after a no-training interval (NTC4, n = 40). After the end of the course sessions, participants from the training groups will still be assigned homework exercises until third testing session (T3). Hence, the MBAT program consists of delivery of the MBAT course, including homework mindfulness practice, and followed by an interval of homework mindfulness practice without course meetings.

The design relies on group randomization at the level of individual military cohort units. This is due to the military requirement that organic unit structure can be maintained during testing and course session scheduling.
Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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4-week MBAT

Participants will engage in Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT) in 4, 2-hour training classes over 4 weeks.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

4-week MBAT

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The training is known as Mindfulness-Based Attention Training, or MBAT. The MBAT program is based on the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, but contextualized for military personnel using themes relevant to military life. The training content is comprised of four central themes: concentration, body awareness, open monitoring, and compassion. This content will be delivered in 4, 2-hour sessions over 4 weeks. Participants will be assigned homework mindfulness practice during the interval of course delivery as well as for the few weeks following the end of the course.

2-week MBAT

Participants will engage in Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT) in 4, 2-hour training classes over 2 weeks.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

2-week MBAT

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The training is known as Mindfulness-Based Attention Training, or MBAT. The MBAT program is based on the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, but contextualized for military personnel using themes relevant to military life. The training content is comprised of four central themes: concentration, body awareness, open monitoring, and compassion. This content will be delivered in 4, 2-hour sessions over 2 weeks. Participants will be assigned homework mindfulness practice during the interval of course delivery as well as for the few weeks following the end of the course.

No training control (NTC)

Participants will receive no intervention but will be tested before and after a no-training interval.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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4-week MBAT

The training is known as Mindfulness-Based Attention Training, or MBAT. The MBAT program is based on the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, but contextualized for military personnel using themes relevant to military life. The training content is comprised of four central themes: concentration, body awareness, open monitoring, and compassion. This content will be delivered in 4, 2-hour sessions over 4 weeks. Participants will be assigned homework mindfulness practice during the interval of course delivery as well as for the few weeks following the end of the course.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

2-week MBAT

The training is known as Mindfulness-Based Attention Training, or MBAT. The MBAT program is based on the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, but contextualized for military personnel using themes relevant to military life. The training content is comprised of four central themes: concentration, body awareness, open monitoring, and compassion. This content will be delivered in 4, 2-hour sessions over 2 weeks. Participants will be assigned homework mindfulness practice during the interval of course delivery as well as for the few weeks following the end of the course.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* English-speaking
* U.S. Army personnel
* Able to understand and provide signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

* Non-controlled sever medical disease that might interfere with the performance in the study
* Any other condition that the investigator might deem problematic for the inclusion of the volunteer in a training study of this nature
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University of Miami

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Amishi Jha

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Amishi P Jha, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Miami

Locations

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University of Miami

Coral Gables, Florida, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Jha AP, Morrison AB, Dainer-Best J, Parker S, Rostrup N, Stanley EA. Minds "at attention": mindfulness training curbs attentional lapses in military cohorts. PLoS One. 2015 Feb 11;10(2):e0116889. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116889. eCollection 2015.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25671579 (View on PubMed)

Jha, AP, Morrison, AB, Parker, SC, & Stanley, EA. Practice is protective: Mindfulness training promotes cognitive resilience in high-stress cohorts. Mindfulness. 2016; 7(1), 1-13. doi: 10.1007/s12671-015-0465-9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Jha AP, Krompinger J, Baime MJ. Mindfulness training modifies subsystems of attention. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2007 Jun;7(2):109-19. doi: 10.3758/cabn.7.2.109.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17672382 (View on PubMed)

Jha AP, Stanley EA, Kiyonaga A, Wong L, Gelfand L. Examining the protective effects of mindfulness training on working memory capacity and affective experience. Emotion. 2010 Feb;10(1):54-64. doi: 10.1037/a0018438.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20141302 (View on PubMed)

van Vugt MK, Jha AP. Investigating the impact of mindfulness meditation training on working memory: a mathematical modeling approach. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2011 Sep;11(3):344-53. doi: 10.3758/s13415-011-0048-8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21732031 (View on PubMed)

Zanesco AP, Denkova E, Rogers SL, MacNulty WK, Jha AP. Mindfulness training as cognitive training in high-demand cohorts: An initial study in elite military servicemembers. Prog Brain Res. 2019;244:323-354. doi: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.10.001. Epub 2018 Nov 27.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 30732844 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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20170243

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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