Career Intentions and Behavior of Army Officers: A Model Testing Approach

Abstract

This report examines the relationship between additudinal factors related to career intentions and behavior of company-grade Army officers. The research tests the adequacy of the two theories that address the relationship between intention and behavior: the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. Officer data from the 1988 administration of the Longitudinal Research on Officer Careers (LROC) survey of officers commissioned from year groups 1980 to 1987 provided data on attitudes toward staying in the Army and subjective norms. Separation behavior through 1990 from the Officer Longitudinal Research Data Base (OLRDB) was matched with the 1988 LROC survey data. The results supported the application of models of both theories to Army officers. Attitudes toward staying in the Army and subjective norms involving the Army were positively related to intentions to stay. Career intentions and retention behavior were strongly related.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1992
Accession Number
ADA246291

Entities

People

  • Tanya J. Guthrie

Organizations

  • U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Army Personnel
  • Databases
  • Employment
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Factor Analysis
  • Information Science
  • Job Satisfaction
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Research
  • Personnel Management
  • Recruiting
  • Regression Analysis
  • Social Sciences
  • Surveys
  • Training
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Organizational Psychology.