Source: PBS
Published: Monday 09 January, 2012
As reported in the Weekly Spark
This article explores the controversy surrounding the effectiveness of the U.S. Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) program. The program, which was launched in 2009, teaches soldiers techniques to help them improve the way they handle battlefield trauma and manage stress in their daily lives. According to a forthcoming U.S. Army report (an advance draft of which was obtained by PBS reporters), "there is now sound scientific evidence that Comprehensive Soldier Fitness improves the resilience and psychological health of soldiers." However, several prominent mental health professionals disagree with this assessment. Critics contend that the study fails to demonstrate that the program results in improved resilience or a decrease in post-traumatic stress, and that the improvements cited by the report (such as improvements of 1.3 percent in coping skills, 1.3 percent in emotional fitness, and 1.1 percent in adaptability) are so small that the program is not worth the investment. According to Martin Seligman, one of the creators of CSF training, the program's positive effects are much larger among soldiers who are at greater risk for developing mental health problems, but the larger affects among this subgroup are not readily apparent because the program is universally implemented.
The soon-to-be-released report, titled "The Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program Evaluation, Report #3: Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Master Resilience Training on Self-Reported Resilience and Psychological Health Data," concludes, "There is now sound scientific evidence that Comprehensive Soldier Fitness improves the resilience and psychological health of soldiers."