Carl A. Castro
Professor, Director of Military and Veterans Programs, Director of the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, Director of the RAND-USC Epstein Family Foundation Center for Veterans Policy Research
Current research efforts include assessing the effects of combat and operations tempo (OPTEMPO) on soldier, family and unit readiness.
Carl A. Castro
Professor, Director of Military and Veterans Programs, Director of the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, Director of the RAND-USC Epstein Family Foundation Center for Veterans Policy Research
Current research efforts include assessing the effects of combat and operations tempo (OPTEMPO) on soldier, family and unit readiness.
Biography
Carl Castro is currently a professor and director of the Military and Veteran Programs at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. Before joining the University of Southern California, Professor Castro served in the U.S. Army for over 30 years, retiring at the rank of colonel. He participated in the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo Campaigns, Operation Northern Watch, and the Iraq War. Professor Castro has chaired numerous NATO and international research groups, and is currently co-chair of a NATO group exploring military and veteran radicalization.
His current research efforts are broad and include: (a) the exploration of the military culture that leads to acceptance and integration of diverse groups; (b) understanding and ameliorating the effects of military trauma and stress, especially combat and deployment, on service members and their family; (c) the prevention of suicides and violence such as sexual assault and bullying; and (d) evaluating the process of transitioning into the military and transitioning from military service back to civilian life.
To reference the work of Carl Castro online, we ask that you directly quote their work where possible and attribute it to "Carl Castro, a faculty at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work” (LINK: https://dworakpeck.usc.edu)
Media
Education
University of Colorado
PhD 1989
University of Colorado
MA 1987
Wichita State University
BA 1985
Area of Expertise
- Veterans Affairs
- Veterans and Military Families
- Military Transition Back to Civilian Life
- Military Affairs
- Psychological Health
- Effects of Combat
- Behavioral Health
- Mental Health
- Veterans in High Education
Industry Experience
- Social Services
- Employment Services
- Health Care - Services
- Education/Learning
- Military
- Mental Health Care
- Government Relations
Affiliations
- Fellow, American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare
- Fulbright Scholar
- Military Behavioral Health: Editor
Accomplishments
Gerson Award, American Psychological Association
Fulbright Specialist, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Articles & Publications
PTSD in U.S. Veterans: The Role of Social Connectedness, Combat Experience and Discharge | MDPI
How the Potential Benefits of Active Combat Events May Partially Offset Their Costs | International Journal of Stress Management
Research at the Tip of the Spear | Psychiatrists in Combat
Refining Trauma-Focused Treatments for Servicemembers and Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder | JAMA Psychiatry
Research Focus
Research Grants
Using Artificial Intelligence to Reduce Military Suicides
As suicide rates among active-duty service members and veterans continue to outpace rates among the general population, researchers from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work have joined forces to use technology to identify, as early as possible, those at risk. The collaboration, as part of the USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society, or CAIS, is believed to be one of the first of its kind to use artificial intelligence to model the strength or weakness of military personnel’s social networks to ascertain suicidal thinking, depression and anxiety. The work by the USC interdisciplinary research team will be supported by a $600,000 grant from the Army Research Office. An estimated 8,000 military veterans commit suicide every year, according to a 2012 report issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Additionally, one active-duty member kills himself or herself every 36 hours, according to 2010 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Team members include: Milind Tambe and Eric Rice, co-founders of the USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society Carl Castro, associate professor of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, retired U.S. Army colonel and research director for the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families Phebe Vayanos, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering and computer science and associate director of CAIS. The team hopes to use the lessons learned from their study to increase early interventions for at-risk military personnel and veterans facing acute stress during transitional moments. These include deployment, returning home from service, joining and leaving the military, and transferring to a different duty assignment in the U.S. and abroad.
Availability
- Keynote
- Panelist
- Author Appearance