Predictors of Navy Attrition. II. A Demonstration of Potential Usefulness for Screening

Abstract

The Sailors Health Inventory Program (SHIP) questionnaire is a medical and psychosocial history questionnaire completed by all Navy recruits. This study was an investigation of the potential usefulness of the SHIP questionnaire for screening to reduce basic training attrition. The sample consisted of 66,690 Navy recruits. Although the most valid individual SHIP items for predicting attrition tended to be psychological or behavioral in nature, a composite of 40 diverse SHIP questions (including medical questions) was found to be the best overall attrition predictor. Further analyses revealed that the 40-item composite is a considerably more powerful attrition predictor than is either educational credential or mental ability score, which together are currently the U.S. military's primary attrition management tools. Finally, the consequences of using different cutoff scores on the 40-item composite were simulated, so that various hypothetical screening strategies can be considered.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA419053

Entities

People

  • Gerald E. Larson
  • Margaret A.K. Ryan
  • Stephanie Booth-Kewley

Organizations

  • Naval Health Research Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Attrition
  • Basic Training
  • Composite Materials
  • Education
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Factor Analysis
  • Health Services
  • Inventory
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Medicine
  • Pain
  • Personnel Management
  • Questionnaires
  • Regression Analysis
  • Risk Factors
  • Surveys
  • Training

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Psychometric Testing or Psychological Assessment.