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Mindfulness Training in Special Operations Forces (SOF) Candidates

Mindfulness Training in Special Operations Forces (SOF) Candidates

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04703296
Enrollment
245
Registered
2021-01-11
Start date
2022-03-16
Completion date
2023-01-09
Last updated
2023-01-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cognitive Change

Keywords

Stress

Brief summary

The overarching goal of this study is to develop, deliver, and investigate the utility and feasibility of train-the-trainer delivery of mindfulness training (MT) in support of improved readiness (across cognitive, affective, and social domains of the human dimension) and improve retention of candidates in the SOF qualification pipeline at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (referred to as SWCS).

Interventions

BEHAVIORALMBAT course

The MBAT will involve: (i) 4 weekly 1.5-hour course sessions. The sessions will provide guided exercises, didactic information, and discussions to promote greater mindfulness. (ii) Daily mindfulness practice that will be facilitated by the Measuring Mindfulness App (MMA) and/or instructor-delivered mindfulness practices. The daily mindfulness practice will require about 15 minutes to complete.

Sponsors

United States Department of Defense
CollaboratorFED
University of Miami
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Individuals who are between 18 and 65 years of age. * Individuals who are fluent English speakers. * Individuals who are active-duty service members. * Men and women of all races and ethnicities. * Individuals who are willing and able to consent to participate in the study. * Individuals who are attending Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS).

Exclusion criteria

* Individuals who have a medical or neurological condition that might interfere with performance on the task in the study (e.g., epilepsy) * Individuals with a history of hospitalization for psychological/mental health issues within the last 6 months.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Attentional PerformanceBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)Attentional Performance as measured by the Sustained Attention Response Task (SART). SART has a range of scores from 0 to 1 with a higher score indicating better accuracy of completing the task.
Change in Working Memory PerformanceBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)Working Memory Performance as measured by the Working Memory Task with Affective Distracters (WMDA). WMDA has a range of scores from 0 to 100%, with higher scores indicating better accuracy on the task.
Change in Cognitive FailuresBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)Cognitive Failures will be measured by the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). CFQ has total score ranging from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating more cognitive failures.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Perceived StressBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)The short version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) will be used assess perceived stress. The 4-item PSS has a range of scores from 0 to 16, with higher score indicating higher level of perceived stress.
Change in DecenteringBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)EQ Decentering is an 11-item sub-scale measuring various thoughts and experiences, and the tendency to distance from those. The decentering score ranges from 1 to 55, with a higher score indicating high level of decentering.
Change in Mind WanderingBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)Four Factor Mind Wandering (4FMW) Questionnaire is a 16-item scale that asks participants to indicate how often they experience a situation described in the form of a statement on a 5-point Likert-type scale from never (1) to always (5). 4FMW has a range of scores from 16 to 80, with higher scores indicating greater mind wandering.
Change in Psychological HealthBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) will be used to assess depression and anxiety. PHQ-4 has a range of scores from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating higher level of depression and anxiety.
Change in Positive AffectBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)Positive Affect will be measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-10). The PANAS Positive has a range of scores from 5 to 25, with higher score indicating higher positive mood.
Change in Negative AffectBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)Negative Affect will be measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-10). The PANAS Negative has a range of scores from 5 to 25, with higher score indicating higher negative mood.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptomatologyBaseline to week 6 and week 11.Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for military populations (PCL-M) will be used to measure symptoms of PTSD. PCL-M has a range of scores from 17 to 85, with higher scores indicating more PTSD symptoms.
Applied Mindfulness Process Scalepost training at at week 6Applied Mindfulness Process Scale measures how often people apply mindfulness practice in daily life.
Change in Perspective TakingBaseline (week 1) to week 6 (after 4-week training interval)The Perspective Taking (PT) Subscale from the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) will be used to assess perspective-taking. The PT Subscale score ranges from 0 to 28, with a higher score indicating greater perspective-taking.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 3, 2026