What’s New

This document is an ongoing continuous summary of Army STARRS and STARRS-LS publications. STARRS/STARRS LS (2009 - present) is the largest and most comprehensive research project of mental health among U.S. Army Soldiers ever conducted. The project was designed to examine a broad range of risk and resilience (protective) factors across a complex set of outcomes including suicidal behaviors and associated mental health issues. Army STARRS scientists created a series of large and extensive databases with the potential to achieve groundbreaking results. These databases allow scientists to investigate a diverse combination of factors from demographic, psychological, biological, neurological, behavioral, and social domains with the goal of generating actionable findings for the Army. The project was designed using an adaptive approach which means it evolved as new information became available over the course of the project. The research team shared preliminary findings, as they became available, with senior Army leadership so the Army could apply them to its ongoing health promotion, risk reduction, and suicide prevention efforts. The work is continuing under the STARRS Longitudinal Study (STARRS-LS) which runs from 2015 to 2025.

Catastrophic disasters, such as late-season severe weather and tornado outbreaks that affected portions of the Southern United States across the states of Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky, cause suffering and death, as well as extreme disruption and distress for communities. Please click HERE for brief and easy-to-read education fact sheets with recommended actions to protect the mental health and well-being of individuals and communities impacted by the tornadoes.

Dr. Stephen Cozza, Associate Director for the Child and Family Program for CSTS, Professor for Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at USU, was among the many experts at USU who helped lead the development of a new book, Grief and Prolonged Grief Disorder, to help clinicians better understand Prolonged Grief Disorder, which is much longer-lasting and all-consuming compared to typical bereavement. 

click HERE for more information.

Acts of mass violence, such as the shootings at the bar and bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, cause extreme disruption within communities. When these events occur in locations people typically go to relax and let down their guard, they can be particularly distressing and undermine a fundamental sense of safety. The subsequent law enforcement search for perpetrator and resulting community lockdown prolong distress and create ongoing disruption and uncertainty. Victims, family, friends, first responders and emergency personnel, as well as community leaders are among those affected. Ongoing and graphic media exposure broaden the impacted disaster “community” far beyond the geographic region of the event.

Please click HERE for resources

Exposure to acts of terrorism and war causes a wide range of harmful mental health effects. Those working with people directly impacted by the Israel-Hamas war or affected communities around the world can protect mental health by using the following evidence-based actions and other resources HERE

In this edition of Research Review (RR), we define food insecurity and describe methods of measuring it, discuss the association between food insecurity and family stress, and suggest how to provide assistance
to families who are struggling with securing adequate food.

Dr. Kalin's Presentation: Brain, Behavior, and Mind Lecture

For more information about Dr. Kalin and the lecture please visit Amygdala, Stress, PTSD Conference site

Catastrophic natural disasters, such as Hurricane Idalia, cause extreme disruption and can be distressful for individuals, families, and communities. For resources please click HERE

ESPAÑOL - Hoja de datos

Catastrophic natural disasters, such as the Maui wildfires, cause extreme disruption and can be distressful for individuals, families and communities. Please click HERE for brief, action-oriented fact sheets as well as additional information to help individuals, communities, and organizations in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires.

Immediately available for viewing is the 2022 CSTS Annual Report. In this comprehensive report, you can read summaries of the Center's work in responding to the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as our continuing work in both military and civilian populations to enhance psychological health, speed the recovery from, and help prevent the negative consequences of trauma on individuals, families, communities, and the nation. 

Acts of mass violence, such as the shootings at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee cause extreme disruption within communities. Acts of violence against children are particularly distressing, and their occurrence at locations that are often thought of as safe havens, such as schools, further undermine feelings of safety within a community. Victims, family, friends, first responders, emergency personnel, and community leaders are among those affected. Caring for the mental health needs of communities and promoting resilience and recovery requires prompt interventions by educating people on common responses to trauma and the ways this may look different in children, providing guidance on actions to foster individual and family well-being, and ensuring access to timely resources and care when needed.

Please click HERE for a resources

Catastrophic disasters, such as the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, cause suffering and death, as well as extreme disruption and distress for communities. Please click HERE for brief and easy-to-read education fact sheets with recommended actions to protect the mental health and well-being of individuals and communities impacted by the earthquakes.

Acts of mass violence, such as the shootings in California at the ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park and mushroom farm in Half Moon Bay cause extreme disruption within communities. Victims, family, friends, first responders and emergency personnel, as well as community leaders are among those affected. Ongoing and graphic media exposure expand the disaster “community” far beyond the geographic region of the event. Caring for the mental health needs of communities and promoting resilience and recovery requires prompt interventions that educate people on common responses to trauma, provides guidance on actions to foster individual and family well-being, and ensures resources are available when distress persists or other symptoms emerge.

Please click HERE for resources

CSTS has created brief and easy-to-read resources that describe actions unit leadership can take to care for unit members and sustain readiness. When a service member is found injured or dead, the cause is often unknown. The cause may be a medical event, an accident, suicide, or suicide attempt. Leaders and unit members may feel uncertain about what to talk about, what not to talk about, and what to do.

Click HERE for Fact Sheet. Click HERE for Trifold

Our Suicide Prevention Program site is live! The Center was entrusted to develop a Suicide Prevention Program to raise awareness of suicide as a public health problem and promote the mental health and well-being of Service members and beyond. The focus of the Program is to shape and support efforts across military and non-military populations to reduce suicidal behaviors and promote protective environments.