Book/Printed Material Evaluation of the Operational Stress Control and Readiness (OSCAR) Program

Title

• Evaluation of the Operational Stress Control and Readiness (OSCAR) Program

Summary

• he Marine Corps Operational Stress Control and Readiness (OSCAR) program embeds mental health personnel within Marine Corps units and extends their reach by training officers and noncommissioned officers to recognize Marines showing signs of stress and intervene early. RAND Corporation researchers conducted an outcome evaluation of the OSCAR program that included four components: (1) a quasi-experimental study that compared Marines in OSCAR-trained and non-OSCAR-trained battalions on a wide array of stress-related outcomes before and after deployment, (2) a longitudinal pre- and postdeployment survey of perceptions of OSCAR among Marines who attended OSCAR training, (3) focus groups with Marines, and (4) semistructured interviews with commanding officers of battalions that had received OSCAR training. Results indicated that, after the authors adjust for a wide array of baseline characteristics and deployment experiences, Marines in OSCAR-trained battalions were more likely than those in non-OSCAR-trained battalions to report having sought help with stress problems from a peer, leader, or corpsman - behavior that is consistent with OSCAR goals. In addition, Marines considered OSCAR a valuable tool for enhancing combat and operational stress response and recovery efforts in the Marine Corps. However, this evaluation did not find evidence that OSCAR affected the key mental health outcomes it was designed to address. Thus, the results of this evaluation do not support the continuation of OSCAR in its current form. Based on lessons learned about OSCAR from this evaluation, other research, and best practices for program improvement and implementation, recommendations for improving combat and operational stress training in the Marine Corps are offered.

Names

• Vaughan, Christine Anne, author
• Farmer, Carrie M., author
• Breslau, Joshua, author
• Burnette, Crystal, author
• National Defense Research Institute (U.S.), issuing body

Created / Published

• Santa Monica, Calif. : RAND Corporation, National Defense Research Institute, [2015]

Headings

• -  United States.--Marine Corps--Mental health services--Evaluation
• -  Marines--Mental health services--United States--Evaluation
• -  Marines--United States--Psychology
• -  Soldiers--Mental health--United States
• -  Psychology, Military--United States--Evaluation
• -  Operational psychology--United States--Evaluation
• -  United States.--Marine Corps--Personnel management
• -  Deployment (Strategy)--Psychological aspects
• -  Stress management--United States
• -  Social surveys--United States

Notes

• -  "RR-562-OSD"--Page 4 of cover.
• -  "National Defense Research Institute."
• -  "Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense"--Title page.
• -  Also available on the Internet as a PDF file.
• -  Includes bibliographical references (pages 127-130).
• -  Description based on print version record; resource not viewed.

Medium

• 1 online resource (xx, 130 pages) : illustrations.

Call Number/Physical Location

• UH629.3

Digital Id

• https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/gdcebookspublic.2024739873

Library of Congress Control Number

• 2024739873

Rights Advisory

• This is non-restricted, fully open content that may be accessed on and off of the Library of Congress campus, with no restrictions, by an unlimited number of users

Access Advisory

• Unrestricted online access

Online Format

• image
• pdf

LCCN Permalink

• https://lccn.loc.gov/2024739873

Additional Metadata Formats

• MARCXML Record
• MODS Record
• Dublin Core Record