Career Enhancement Training Study Delivered Across Career Phases

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · Jul 21, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This study tests Wingman-Connect, a group program designed to strengthen supportive relationships and healthy coping for Air Force trainees, to see if it can reduce suicide risk. About 396 training classes (roughly 2,970 airmen) are being randomized to receive Wingman-Connect or an active control program that teaches stress management, with participants followed for one year. The main goal is to see if Wingman-Connect lowers self-reported suicide risk, measured by a computer-based questionnaire that gives a 0–100 score (higher means more risk), with a cut-off score of 34 or higher indicating higher risk. The study also looks at depression scores and a simple measure of work performance.

Who can join and what to expect: Eligible participants are Airmen-in-Training in their first year of enlistment, ages 18–40, in technical training classes lasting 37–91 days. The study is being run at the University of Rochester, in real-world training settings with Air Force staff delivering the programs. Participants will have baseline assessments, plus follow-ups at about 6 and 12 months. Wingman-Connect includes three 2-hour training sessions plus six months of text reminders; the active control covers stress management. Enrollment is by invitation, and results will come after the one-year follow-up.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Airmen-in-Training (AiT) recruited from technical training classes that train Airmen in jobs that support the mission and aircraft of AFGSC \& AMC MajComs.
• • Eligible classes must be between 37-91 class days in length
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Airmen from other countries receiving training in US
• • Airmen who are not in their first year of enlistment