ResilienceNCT07050238
Evaluation of a Group-based, Skills Training for Increasing Mental Toughness
A study testing Life Force in people with Resilience and Mental Toughness, run by Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of the Life Force study is to (1) evaluate the efficacy of targeted, skills-based training for enhancing mental toughness and mitigating harmful and high-risk behaviors in active-duty Soldiers, and (2) to determine who benefits the most from this type of training. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Resilience, Mental Toughness
- What is being tested?
- Life Force
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 2,400 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 6 Jan 2026to 1 Jul 2029
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Active duty Soldiers in the regular Army
- Age 18 or older
- Stationed at Fort Hood, TX
Who cannot join
- Soldiers with self-identified plans of leaving active duty service within 12 months of the baseline assessment
- Soldiers having a planned permanent change in station (PCS) or deployment within 12 months of the baseline assessment
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Fort Hood
Killeen, Texas, 76544
About this study
Official title: SAFEGUARD Life Force
The goal of the Life Force study is to (1) evaluate the efficacy of targeted, skills-based training for enhancing mental toughness and mitigating harmful and high-risk behaviors in active-duty Soldiers, and (2) to determine who benefits the most from this type of training. Researchers will compare the training group to a control group. All participants will complete a baseline survey and two follow up surveys at 6 and 12 months post-baseline. The group assigned to the Life Force training condition will also complete a 5-session, group-based, skills training program.
Read the detailed description
This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the Life Force training program, a 5- session, group-based, skills training program tailored specifically for active-duty Soldiers. The program uses evidence-based strategies to mitigate harmful and high-risk behaviors and promote Mental Toughness-defined as the ability to maintain peak performance under pressure or adversity, recover from setbacks, cope effectively with challenges, maintain a positive attitude, and persevere towards goals. The training sessions are led by skilled Life Force trainers from the study team and focus on building the following skills:
- Grow Through Support - building the inner circle and recognizing when to lean on that support
- Relentlessness - mastering the ability to push forward past the point of quitting
- Invite Adversity - fail forward, seeing failure as an opportunity for growth
- Nonstop Resolve - owning the setback, taking accountability of mistakes to reset and move forward
- Dominate Your Emotions - controlling emotions, breaking down intervention points and how to respond instead of reacting Participants will complete a 15-20 minute baseline survey. An AI machine learning algorithm, built from existing military administrative and health records, will be used to determine eligibility for participation by predicting who will benefit most from this training. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the Life Force training or a control group. The training group will participate in 5 group training sessions. Both the training and control groups will complete two 15-20 minute follow-up surveys at 6 and 12 months. The surveys will assess for the occurrence of high-risk behaviors or events qualified for an Army Serious Incident Report (SIR), indicators of poor performance, and self-reported improvements in mental toughness, military readiness, job satisfaction, career intentions, and overall functioning in their occupational, personal, and social lives. Training group data will be compared to the control group (who will only complete the surveys).
- Conditions
- Resilience, Mental Toughness
- Being tested
- Life Force
- Keywords
- Mental Toughness, Active-duty Military, Risk Reduction, Prevention
- Medical subject headings
- Risk Reduction Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Life ForceBehavioural
5-session, group-based, skills training program tailored specifically for active-duty Soldiers aimed at mitigating harmful and high-risk behaviors and promote Mental Toughness.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Life Force program | Experimental | The Life Force program is a 5-session, group-based, skills training program tailored specifically for active duty Soldiers. The program uses evidence-based strategies to mitigate harmful and high-risk behaviors and promote Mental Toughness. Receives: Behavioral: Life Force |
| Control | No intervention | Standard of care with 6- and 12-month follow up assessments. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Risky/Harmful Behaviors
Self-reported or administratively recorded
Measured: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Secondary outcomes (5)
Poor Performance
Poor performance as indicated either by written reprimands, designations in the NCOER, a corrective action plan (DA Form 4856), remedial training, flagging actions, demotion, Article 15, or barred reenlistment
Measured: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Mental Toughness
Self-reported; From the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire
Measured: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Military Readiness, Satisfaction, & Career Plans
Self-reported
Measured: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Suicide-related behaviors
Self-reported
Measured: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Role Functioning (occupational, personal, and social)
Self-reported
Measured: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted3 Jul 2025
- Study start6 Jan 2026
- Primary completion1 Jul 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion1 Jul 2029 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for ResilienceStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 2,400 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
- Sponsor type
- US federal agency
- Collaborators
- Defense Health Agency, Harvard University, Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, University of Michigan
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07050238
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- USUHS.2025-152
- Status last verified
- Jan 2026
- First submitted
- 25 Jun 2025
- Last updated
- 15 Jun 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Jun 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- SAFEGUARD Life Force
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07050238
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- USUHS.2025-152
- Conditions
- Resilience, Mental Toughness
- Keywords
- Mental Toughness, Active-duty Military, Risk Reduction, Prevention
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 2,400 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Uniformed Services University of the Health SciencesUS federal agency
- Collaborators
- Defense Health Agency, Harvard University, Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, University of Michigan
- Study start
- 6 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Jul 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 1 Jul 2029 (estimated)
- First posted
- 3 Jul 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of the Life Force study is to (1) evaluate the efficacy of targeted, skills-based training for enhancing mental toughness and mitigating harmful and high-risk behaviors in active-duty Soldiers, and (2) to determine who benefits the most from this type of training. Researchers will compare the training group to a control group. All participants will complete a baseline survey and two follow up surveys at 6 and 12 months post-baseline. The group assigned to the Life Force training condition will also complete a 5-session, group-based, skills training program.
Detailed description
This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the Life Force training program, a 5- session, group-based, skills training program tailored specifically for active-duty Soldiers. The program uses evidence-based strategies to mitigate harmful and high-risk behaviors and promote Mental Toughness-defined as the ability to maintain peak performance under pressure or adversity, recover from setbacks, cope effectively with challenges, maintain a positive attitude, and persevere towards goals. The training sessions are led by skilled Life Force trainers from the study team and focus on building the following skills:
- Grow Through Support - building the inner circle and recognizing when to lean on that support
- Relentlessness - mastering the ability to push forward past the point of quitting
- Invite Adversity - fail forward, seeing failure as an opportunity for growth
- Nonstop Resolve - owning the setback, taking accountability of mistakes to reset and move forward
- Dominate Your Emotions - controlling emotions, breaking down intervention points and how to respond instead of reacting Participants will complete a 15-20 minute baseline survey. An AI machine learning algorithm, built from existing military administrative and health records, will be used to determine eligibility for participation by predicting who will benefit most from this training. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the Life Force training or a control group. The training group will participate in 5 group training sessions. Both the training and control groups will complete two 15-20 minute follow-up surveys at 6 and 12 months. The surveys will assess for the occurrence of high-risk behaviors or events qualified for an Army Serious Incident Report (SIR), indicators of poor performance, and self-reported improvements in mental toughness, military readiness, job satisfaction, career intentions, and overall functioning in their occupational, personal, and social lives. Training group data will be compared to the control group (who will only complete the surveys).
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Life Force program | Experimental | Behavioral: Life ForceThe Life Force program is a 5-session, group-based, skills training program tailored specifically for active duty Soldiers. The program uses evidence-based strategies to mitigate harmful and high-risk behaviors and promote Mental Toughness. |
| Control | No intervention | –Standard of care with 6- and 12-month follow up assessments. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Active duty Soldiers in the regular Army
- Age 18 or older
- Stationed at Fort Hood, TX
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Soldiers with self-identified plans of leaving active duty service within 12 months of the baseline assessment
- Soldiers having a planned permanent change in station (PCS) or deployment within 12 months of the baseline assessment
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Life Force5-session, group-based, skills training program tailored specifically for active-duty Soldiers aimed at mitigating harmful and high-risk behaviors and promote Mental Toughness. | Behavioural | Life Force program |
Primary outcome
Risky/Harmful Behaviors
Time frame: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Self-reported or administratively recorded
5 secondary outcomes
Poor Performance
Time frame: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Mental Toughness
Time frame: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Military Readiness, Satisfaction, & Career Plans
Time frame: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Suicide-related behaviors
Time frame: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Role Functioning (occupational, personal, and social)
Time frame: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Jun 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Life Force in people with Resilience and Mental Toughness, run by Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Life Force Study (301-295-3485, life-force-study-ggg@usuhs.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Risky/Harmful Behaviors (time frame: Within the 12 months following completion of the baseline assessment). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Jun 2026.