Dr. Ann Huffman and Dr. Heidi Wayment were recently awarded a $1.4 million Department of Defense grant for their research on Psychological Health and Resilience of Military Personnel. Previous work on the “quiet ego,” a concept developed by Wayment and Bauer in 2008, has demonstrated numerous benefits of a quiet ego, including personal growth and a greater compassion for the self and others (Wayment et al., 2015). Based on this work, Huffman and Wayment will develop a brief self-management app-based intervention that reminds individuals of the characteristics of a self-identity rooted in balance and growth (Wayment & Bauer, 2017). The long-range goal of their work is to improve the quality of life for military personnel. Their research includes a three-phased study, in which they first experimentally examine how well the adaptation of an innovative, brief, non-religious, self-management intervention strengthens pe
rsonal and occupational resources in a military occupational setting. The research will conclude with a large-scale experiment assessing the effectiveness of the intervention. Huffman and Wayment state that the research responds to multiple calls for research on the development of interventions for military personnel and is especially relevant for military population because it capitalizes on an adaptable set of self-management strategies that can prepare military personnel to deal with all types of work and family stressors, not just specific demands (e.g., only combat exposure), nor specific disabilities (e.g., TBI). They describe the phone-based intervention as a dynamic form of self-management that will improve behavioral outcomes, health, and resilience among military personnel as they cope with stressors in different military environments and in different phases of the stress process.