Assessing the Use of Employment Screening for Sexual Assault Prevention

Abstract

Recent estimates show that 2.90 percent of active-duty women and 0.29 percent of active- duty men in the U.S. Air Force experienced a sexual assault in the past year (Jaycox et al., 2015). Such experiences can have long-term physical and psychological consequences for victims, including gynecological complications and depression (Jewkes, Sen, and Garcia-Moreno, 2002). The threat of sexual assault can also decrease self-perceptions and trust in others (Bohner and Schwartz, 1996). The Air Force is committed to preventing sexual assault among its members. As part of its effort to do so, it asked RAND to examine how the Air Force might modify current policies and procedures to identify potential recruits at risk of perpetrating sexual assault. This report reviews current efforts during recruitment to address sexual assault prevention and the policies and practices the Air Force may wish to adopt for screening recruits. For this research, the RAND project team held discussions with representatives from the U.S. Air Force Recruiting Service (AFRS) and individuals who facilitate the screening process at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). The team spoke with these individuals about general recruitment and accession processes for enlisted airmen, as well as about information recruits receive regarding sexual assault or sexual-harassment policies in the Air Force. The team also reviewed employment-screening measures, such as integrity tests, background assessments, and personality assessments, used to predict and address negative workplace behaviors and examined whether these measures may be used to identify prospective applicants with a proclivity to commit sexual harassment or sexual assault. While no single best method for screening such recruits emerged, there are some practices the Air Force may consider.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2017
Accession Number
AD1053364

Entities

People

  • Miriam Matthews

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Applied Psychology
  • Criminals
  • Employment
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Health Services
  • Human Behavior
  • Human Population
  • Management Personnel
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychology
  • Recreation
  • Sexual Assault

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