Newswise — Bethesda, MD – Since September 11, 2001, more than 16,000 active duty service members have died from a variety of causes, with slightly more than one-third attributed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For every service member who dies, many family members, including adults and children, are impacted. Researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) have launched the five-year National Military Family Bereavement Study, to investigate the impact of military death on surviving family members, the largest scientific study of its kind.
Led by Stephen J. Cozza, M.D., Professor, USU Department of Psychiatry, and Associate Director, CSTS, the multi-disciplinary research team will study more than 3,000 survivors of deceased active duty service members to understand the grief and loss experiences, investigate the impact of community support and services on the bereaved, and understand how available resources impact resilience or vulnerability in surviving families. The study will also build on the growing evidence addressing the intersection of grief and trauma and how it affects a military family member’s bereavement process, and needs for support and assistance. Findings will help to provide a scientific basis to inform policies affecting survivor care.
“The death of a military service member is a life-changing event for the entire family,” said Cozza. “From the initial distress of notification to longer-term challenges, family members face difficult emotional and practical issues possibly related to distinctive characteristics of military death. Certain similarities between civilian and military bereavement exist, however, families impacted by a military death may possess unique risk and protective factors that affect their bereavement process and experience of loss. The study of bereavement in the civilian population is extensive; however, there is a lack of substantive empirical research on the impact of the death of a family member serving in the U.S. military. The need to study individual and family bereavement when a military service member dies is critical to understanding the grief and loss experiences of this unique survivor population.”
Cozza’s team will look at 3,000 adult survivors of active duty military members (including guard and reserve) who died on or after September 11, 2001, from any cause (including KIA, accident, illness, homicide, or suicide). “Survivors” include spouses/ex-spouses/adult partners, parents/step-parents/adoptive and custodial parents/in-loco parentis, siblings and children/step-children (including adult children over the age of 18). Of the 3,000 studied, the team will select a subset of 500 survivors for family interviews, which will include surviving children. More information can be found at the study’s website (http://www.militarysurvivorstudy.org) where interested participants can also enroll in the study and complete an on-line questionnaire.
Survivors will complete questionnaires and participate in interviews and focus groups. They will also be asked for saliva samples which will be used to identify genes that might be associated with risk or resilience during the bereavement process.
The independent study will also feature input from consultants and collaborators from a number of outside institutions, including Columbia University, Harvard University, UCLA, the University of Michigan, and Allegheny General Hospital. In addition, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., National Military Families Association (NMFA), Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), American Association of Suicidology, American Widow Project, The Compassionate Friends, Military Families United, Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE), Travis Manion Foundation, Alliance of Hope for Suicide Survivors, Snowball Express, and the Army Survivor Outreach Services (S.O.S.) are collaborating as principal community partners.
* * *About USUThe Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is the United States’ federal health sciences university. USU students are primarily active duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who have received specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, preventive medicine, the neurosciences (to include TBI and PTSD), disaster response and humanitarian assistance, and acute trauma care. A large percentage of the university’s nearly 5,000 physician and 600 advanced practice nursing alumni are supporting operations in Afghanistan, Africa and elsewhere, offering their leadership and expertise. The University also has graduate programs in oral biology, biomedical sciences and public health, most open to civilian and military applicants, committed to excellence in research which have awarded more than 375 doctoral and 800 masters degrees to date. For more information about USU and its programs, visit www.usuhs.mil.
About CSTS
The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) was established in 1987 at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to address Department of Defense concerns around the psychological impact and health consequences resulting from the impact of traumatic events, to include combat, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and natural disasters. For more information, visit www.cstsonline.org.
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