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STARRS - Longitudinal Study

Provided by Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the ArmyFriday, September 25, 2020

What is it?

The Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers - Longitudinal Study (STARRS-LS) continues the Army’s research efforts toward suicide prevention with partner agencies. Beginning with Army STARRS (2009-2015) and extending into the longitudinal effort of STARRS-LS (2015-2020), STARRS-LS (2020-2025) will utilize the STARRS platform, systems and data to improve understanding of predictive factors for suicide and psychological health of Soldiers, including those who have separated from the service.

What are the current and past efforts of the Army?

A new STARRS-LS Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by the Under Secretary of the Army on July 27, 2020 in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National Institute of Mental Health to continue the STARRS-LS effort.

STARRS-LS has partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). With the close coordination and improved data sharing, STARRS-LS will facilitate the research team’s ability to follow service members after they separate from active military service.

What continued efforts does the Army have planned?

During the next phase of STARRS-LS, the research team, including the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Harvard Medical School, University of Michigan, and the University of California, San Diego, will continue their analysis efforts to better understand suicide, suicide-related behavior, and other mental and behavioral health issues. These efforts will include:

  • Current issues of interest to the DoD and Army - how pre-separation characteristics predict post-separation risk of various adverse outcomes, and the importance of access to lethal means.
  • Capability for the researchers - to explore the feasibility of new or emerging types of predictive models.
  • Collection of new information - by administering the third wave of the STARRS-LS survey (slated to begin in late 2020) of Soldiers who previously participated in Army STARRS and the first wave of the STARRS-LS survey.
  • Analysis of the Army STARRS data (from ~72,000 Soldiers), the STARRS-LS data (from 14,500 Soldiers), and Army/DoD administrative data (from over 50 sources for more than three million Soldiers), all Components, serving since 2004.

Why is this important to the Army?

The STARRS-LS provides the Army a means to better understand risk and protective factors for suicide and related behavioral health problems. This capability rapidly translates findings into action, and results that may inform the development of more effective interventions and facilitate evidence-based decision making.

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Events

September 2020

National Suicide Prevention Month | Visit Army Resilience Directorate

National Preparedness Month

Sept. 15- Oct. 15: Hispanic Heritage Month | Visit Hispanics in the U.S. Army

Sept. 27: Gold Star Mothers and Family’s Day | Visit Gold Star Survivors

October 2020

National Diability Employment Awarenss Month

Energy Action Month | Visit ASA (IEE)

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Oct. 13-16: AUSA Annual Meeting