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Airmen typically use ICT to augment interactions with others, and many seek health information online but need help evaluating its quality

• As in the general population, Airmen typically use ICTs to augment interactions with real-world friends, family, and other Airmen, not to replace them.
• More than 30,000 Airmen may be facing serious difficulties due to their poorly controlled and disruptive Internet use; prior research suggests that such behaviors may not simply reflect a lack of self-discipline — they may be a sign of more serious mental-health issues.
• Airmen seek and use online mental-health information but need help evaluating its quality.
• Most Airmen prefer face-to-face communication with health professionals, but a sizable minority may prefer ICT alternatives.

This report presents the findings from a pioneering exploratory survey of 3,479 active-duty, guard, and reserve Airmen on their use of information and communication technology (ICT), the association between ICT use and social and psychological well-being, and the potential for Air Force mental-health professionals to use ICT to meet the needs of Airmen. The survey data were weighted to ensure that the analytic sample would be representative of the gender, age group, rank (officer, enlisted), and affiliation (active, guard, reserve) composition of the U.S. Air Force. Rates of ICT usage by Airmen are presented, along with Airmen's perceptions of the relationship between social support and ICT use, their attitudes about seeking and receiving health information via technology, and the differences in ICT use, social support, and psychological well-being among different groups of Airmen. Finally, recommendations are presented on ways the Air Force can leverage ICT to promote the social and psychological well-being of Airmen.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Study Methods

• Chapter Three

  Frequency of ICT Use Among Airmen

• Chapter Four

  Airman ICT Use and Social Support

• Chapter Five

  The Impact of ICT on Airman Well-Being

• Chapter Six

  Airmen's Use of ICT to Seek and Receive Mental Health Information and Services

• Chapter Seven

  Airmen's Perceptions of the Relationship Between ICT and Their Social and Mental Well-Being

• Chapter Eight

  Demographic Differences in ICT Use and Perceived Well-Being

• Chapter Nine

  Leveraging Airman Use of ICT to Promote Social and Psychological Well-Being

• Appendix A

  Survey Instrument

• Appendix B

  Survey Invitation

• Appendix C

  Sampling and Weighting Methods

• Appendix D

  Military Programs Relating to ICT, Mental Health, and Well-Being

• Appendix E

  Telemental Health Guidelines

• Appendix F

  Online Suicide Resources and Interventions