FICS for Sailors: Follow-up Intervention Study

Navy sailors experience considerable stress over the course of basic training, throughout advance training, and with eventual assignments in the fleet. This study builds upon prior research of conducting randomized controlled intervention trials with Navy recruits at-risk for stress and depression. The BOOT STRAP Intervention funded by the TriService Nursing Research Program was developed to help recruits cope with the stress of basic training. The proposed Focused Integrative Coping Strategies (FICS) Internet Intervention with Navy sailors further tests and develops the BOOT STRAP Intervention and will make an important contribution in curbing the increasing threat of stress and depression in Navy sailors beyond basic training. The proposed project will be conducted in three phases: Phase 1 will consist of a longitudinal design. Follow-up will be done with approximately 1632 recruits who participated in our previous studies. We will examine the long-term effectiveness of the original BOOT STRAP Intervention over time by the sailors' success in the Navy, including depressive symptoms, perceived stress, interpersonal factors, physical and emotional health, sleep, PTSD symptoms, coping, life satisfaction, and perceived group cohesion. In addition we will determine covariates of success for the original Intervention, including age, gender, race, childhood adversity, and deployment status with those sailors deployed to hot spots such as Afghanistan or Iraq. In Phase 2, the BOOT STRAP Intervention will be refined and adapted to an Internet-based Intervention with Navy sailors. Phase 3 will pilot-test the feasibility of the FICS Internet Intervention with sailors who participated in the previous studies. The proposed intervention uses a process that will aid in early intervention; it uses a cost effective method and can become a critical approach in preventing long-term effects of stress and depression in Navy sailors.

Final report is available on NTRL: https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDetail/PB2013103247.xhtml