An Overview of Hispanics in the Active Enlisted Army. 1980-1986
Abstract
The Hispanic youth population is rapidly growing relative to most other groups. In light of the overall declines in the size of the youth market, Hispanics become an increasingly important population to military recruiters. The authors have examined the representation of Hispanics in the Army, as well as their relative performance on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), outcome of their first tour, and other characteristics. Results indicate that Hispanics make good soldiers and have very low attrition rates relative to other groups, yet they appear to be underrepresented in the Army compared to their distribution in the civilian population. However, there is strong evidence that official records underestimate the actual number of Hispanics in the Army. It is believed that the actual proportion of Hispanics in the Army is not much less than their proportion in the population. Dramatic declines in the proportion of Hispanics in the Army occurred after 1980, when the AFQT miscalibration was discovered. Recruitment of this group is complicated by their very high dropout rates from secondary school. For Insular Puerto Ricans, lack of fluency in English prevents many from accessing into the military. Relative to other groups, Hispanics are more likely to successfully complete the first tour, are more likely to reenlist, and are less likely to receive adverse discharges. Keywords: Army personnel, Demography, Minorities, Blacks, Enlisted groups, Enlisted personnel, Caucasians.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA199494
Entities
People
- Frances C. Grafton
- Naomi Verdugo
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences