Military Combat Performance
Conditions
Keywords
Attention Bias Modification, Randomized Control Trial, Eye-tracking
Brief summary
Military service in combat units entails exposure to traumatic events that require mental adjustment. To develop and efficiently apply attentional interventions aimed at enhancing soldiers' combat performance, it is essential to extensively investigate the efficiency of these training programs, which has yet to been done. The prupose of the current study is to examine the efficiency of the new attention eye-tracking based training, in comparison to RT-based training and to a control group, in improving performance of combat soldiers. In addition, the influence of the attention training on aspects of psychological resilience will also be examined in questionnaires.
Detailed description
Following the explanation to participants regarding the study process, those who give written consent to participate will be randomly placed into one of three groups: GCFT (N=60), ABMT (N=60), and a neutral control group - task based on eye-tracking (N=60). The study will include 2 measurement points during the military service: before the attention training and after the attention training. In each measurement point, the soldiers will complete computerized tasks to measure threat attention, questionnaires, and performance data from shooting ranges and combat fitness.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALGaze-Contingent Feedback Training
Feedback according to participants' viewing patterns, in order to modify their attention toward threat stimuli.
BEHAVIORALAttention Bias Modification
Attention training via repeated trials of a dot-probe task intended to direct attention toward threat stimuli using threat and neutral face stimuli.
BEHAVIORALNon-Contingent Feedback Training
Participants listen to a musical track they chose with no operant conditioning.
Sponsors
Tel Aviv University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Each soldier from the cohort that will give his written consent will be able to participate in the study.
Exclusion criteria
* Hebrew proficiency is insufficient to complete the study questionnaires.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Combat Performance | Approximately 3 months after baseline | Composite scores for Static marksmanship, simulator shooting performance (Bagira), running test grades, and obstacle course grades will be gathered from soldiers' commanders before and after intervention sessions to test for change. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Post-Combat Trauma | Change from baseline Post-Combat PTSD Symptoms at approximately 3 months | Score on on self-report questionnaire Posttraumatic stress disorder checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). The total score, ranging from 0 to 80, reflects PTSD symptom severity, with higher scores representing greater severity. |
| Post-Combat General Anxiety | Change from baseline Post-Combat General Anxiety Symptoms at approximately 3 months | Score on self-report questionnaire Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (GAD-7). The total score, ranging from 0 to 21, reflects GAD symptom severity, with higher scores representing greater severity. |
| Post-Combat Depression | Change from baseline Post-Combat Depression Symptoms at approximately 3 months | Score on self-report Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). The total score, ranging from 0-27, reflects severity of depressive symptoms, with higher scores representing greater severity. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Post-Training Subjective Attention Bias toward threat | Change from baseline Attention Bias within 3 months of baseline measurement | Change in Subjective Attention Bias will be assessed with a self-reported attention bias using the Attention Bias Questionnaire (ABQ). The total score, ranging from 0 to 36, represents threat-related attention bias, with higher scores representing greater bias toward threat. |
| Post-Training Eye-tracking Attention Bias toward threat | Change from baseline Attention Bias within 3 months of baseline measurement | Change in Attention Bias will also be assessed with an eye-tracking task. |
| Post-Training RT-based Attention Bias toward threat | Change from baseline Attention Bias within 3 months of baseline measurement | Change in Attention Bias will be assessed with a response-time based dot-probe task. |
Countries
Israel
Outcome results
None listed