Development of the Background and Opinion Questionnaire 72
Abstract
This Research Memorandum provides a technical background for the development and initial field testing of the Background and Opinion Questionnaire (BOQ-72) (PT 4877). The report covers: (1) history of and rationale for the instrument's development, (2) construction, scoring and normative data, and (3) validity data available at this time. The BOQ-72, scored by the Young Dropouts (YDO) systems, is a statistically valid instrument. It is better than currently available instruments for predicting discipline failure in BCT. However, it is far from perfect and no better than high school graduation as a predictor. The finding that social background variables, particularly the completion of high school, are better predictors of discipline failure than paper-and-pencil tests provides the starting point for future efforts. No one is seriously suggesting that the Army discontinue recruiting high school dropouts, since the majority of them seem to make good soldiers, and since the Army cannot afford the loss of manpower which that decision would entail. Rather, the relationship between high school graduation and discipline failure helps to point the way for future search and suggests that, in the absence of any fundamental change in the Army, discipline failure rates can be expected to rise whenever the proportion of nongraduates increases.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1974
- Accession Number
- ADA076801
Entities
People
- D. B. Bell
- S. F. Bolin
- T. J. Houston
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences