Interviews with Parents of 1998 Youth Attitude Tracking Study Respondents

Abstract

Subject Terms Report Classification unclassified Classification of this page unclassified Classification of Abstract unclassified Limitation of Abstract SAR Number of Pages 129For additional copies of this report, ACKNOWLEDGMENTSMany people contributed to completion of this study. In addition to the authors, other staff at Westat conducted interviews and assisted with the management of sampling procedures and the data. Dr. Sylvia Fisher, Ms. Pamela Giambo, Ms. Juanita Lucas-McLean, Dr. Tracy Meyer, and Dr. Sabra Wooley worked many evenings and weekends to conduct interviews at times that were convenient for parents. Dr. Fisher also translated the interview guide into Spanish and conducted interviews with all non-English-speaking parents in the sample. Mr. Mervin Ruiz contributed substantially to the coding and analysis of the interview data. Ms. Tracey Hagerty managed all aspects of sample selection, as well as the operational aspects of the data collection process and production of the interview transcripts. Ms. Mary Moser assisted Ms. Hagerty in these tasks.We wish particularly to thank Dr. W. S. Sellman, Director for Accession Policy, and Dr. Anita Lancaster, Assistant Director for Program Management at DMDC, for their continued support of this series of indepth qualitative studies. Without their confidence in the long-term rewards to be gained from careful and thorough investigation of fundamental relationships between youth, their parents, the transition to adult life, and military service, these projects would never have been accomplished.Finally, special thanks to the parents who took time out of their busy days to talk to us. Their openness and candor provided us with valuable insights into their sons' career decision-making processes. EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe Youth Attitude Tracking Study (YATS) began in 1975 as a relatively modest telephone survey of young men aged 16-21. It grew into a complex annual telephone survey of 10,000 young men and women 16-24 years of age. One of the primary objectives of the YATS project was to assess the propensity of young men and women to join the military. The YATS data has provided a reliable measure of patterns in youth attitudes toward the military and the characteristics of those who were likely to join and those who were unlikely to join. One of the limitations of this large scale study, however, was its inability to explore the complex factors that may underlie or explain any observed differences in the youth population.Beginning in 1995, a series of in-depth studies of YATS respondents was initiated to increase understanding of youth propensity for military service. To date, these studies have focused on two broad areas of inquiry-career decision-making among different segments of the youth population, and circumstances affecting propensity for military service. Interviews With Parents of 1998 Youth Attitude Tracking Respondents was conducted in 1999 and was the first effort to collect information from parents.

Emirati Parents’ Attitudes toward the Military and National Service in the United Arab Emirates

“…From 1975 to 1999, the US Department of Defense commissioned The Youth Attitude Tracking Study to examine youth enlistment trends in an all-volunteer army context. It examined American parents' views of the US military service and support of their children's choice of a military career [6][7]. Focus groups were conducted with parents, who were not military staff and had sons eligible for service.…”