The Relationship of Personality Characteristics to Attrition and Performance Problems of Navy and Air Force Recruits,

Abstract

Current high levels of attrition pose a serious threat to the capability of the U.S. military services to fulfill their assigned missions. A recent comprehensive review of enlisted attrition in the U.S. Armed Forces concluded that behavior and performance problems were a major cause of attrition during the first 2 years of service; an attrition rate of approximately 10 percent occurs during recruit training. The main goal of the three studies described in this report was to investigate the relation between attrition and the personality characteristics of Navy and Air Force recruits and the development of performance problems during basic recruit training. The findings suggest that measures of anxiety, curiosity, and anger are potentially useful in predicting performance problems of military recruits. Implications for intervention and behavior modification programs are provided.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1979
Accession Number
ADA077437

Entities

People

  • Charles D. Spielberger
  • Lester R. Barker

Organizations

  • University of South Florida

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Basic Training
  • Civilian Personnel
  • Department Of Defense
  • Drug Abuse
  • Education
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Human Behavior
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Training
  • Personnel Management
  • Pilot Studies
  • Psychology
  • Social Sciences
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Students

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Military Mobilization and Reserve Forces Studies.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.
  • Systems Analysis and Design