Stress Reactivity and Attrition in Two Basic Training Populations.
Abstract
Previous observations linking stress reactivity to attrition in military recruits who experienced medical problems during basic training were extended to the general recruit populations using data from male volunteer U.S. Navy recruits (n = 1,546) and U.S. Marine Corps recruits (n = 2,079) who completed measures of the five-factor personality model. The personality measures were used to classify recruits as stress reactive (R+), stress neutral (N), or stress resistant (R-). Attrition from basic training was related to stress reactivity status with R+ recruits having above average attrition and R- recruits having below average attrition in both populations. Comparison to a dimensional treatment of personality indicated that the stress reactivity typology extracted the useful variance from the personality measures as well as a discriminant function derived from these measures with attrition as the criterion variable. Comparison to more complex typological models suggested that a four-group typology might be preferable to the hypothesized three-group typology. Refined methods of measuring stress reactivity and tests of hypotheses regarding the processes by which reactivity affects attrition are needed to address this possibility and extend the comparison of the reactivity typology to dimensional personality models.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 10, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA305530
Entities
People
- Elizabeth Walton-paxton
- Linda K. Hervig
- Ross R. Vickers
- Terry L. Conway
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center