Predictors Related to Premature Attrition of Navy Recruits

Abstract

The problem of turnover has become one of major importance to both Industry and the milItary. The costs of even a small turnover are great In terms of money, personnel utilization, training, and time, The frustration experienced by those who leave an organization, as well as that felt by those-who failed In their performance of selecting and training these Individuals, results In a huge waste of human energy. The reduction In turnover would Improve any organization's program of human utilization and also Its financial position (Lawler, 1970). Because of the high costs accrued from attrItion, a study of the relationships of turnover with other variables could prove to be beneficial and profitable. The Initial step In the study of turnover Is to determine which characterIstics differentiate between those who leave an organization and those who stay within an organization. Within the military the knowledge of the distinctive characteristics of those who either remain within th6 organization or leave it would be helpful In the subsequent selection of men to be enlisted Into the allvol unteer force. During the last decade Plag and his associates (1966, 1967) have studied the relationships of naval enlistee characteristics and the subsequent performance of V,. those men during their first tours of duty. Predictors of success or failure In completing a term of enlistment have been examined end from these re.earch efforts odds for effectiveness have evolved. Briefly stated, a man's odds for effectiveness are mathematically determined by using combinations of four variables; number Výy of arrests, number of suspensions and expulsions from school, years of education completed, and score on the Armed Forces Quelification Test. These odds for effectiveness have been compi led Into actuarial tables which provide the recruiter 4Auwmwed Wa publi Meeowe D~atibuto U11~s

A Review of the Literature on Attrition from the Military Services: Risk Factors for Attrition and Strategies to Reduce Attrition

“…Several studies have shown that self-reported past expulsions or suspensions from school were risk factors for attrition (20,106,153,154,199). Studies that have performed multivariate analysis have found that expulsions from school independently increased the risk of first-temi attrition when other potential attrition risk factors were included in the model such as demographics, service satisfaction variables, education, family stability measures, physical health measures, and cognitive test scores (20,153,154,199), Other risk factors for basic training attrition included self-reports of being charged with or suspected of a crime (106), traffic violations, times late for school (153), fighting while intoxicated, rebelliousness (244), and being arrested for a crime (20,154,253).…”

“…Studies that have performed multivariate analysis have found that expulsions from school independently increased the risk of first-temi attrition when other potential attrition risk factors were included in the model such as demographics, service satisfaction variables, education, family stability measures, physical health measures, and cognitive test scores (20,153,154,199), Other risk factors for basic training attrition included self-reports of being charged with or suspected of a crime (106), traffic violations, times late for school (153), fighting while intoxicated, rebelliousness (244), and being arrested for a crime (20,154,253). Self-reported fighting while intoxicated was an independent risk factor for psychiatric/behavioral and legal discharges but not medical or inadequate performance discharges (244), Self-reported rebelliousness was an independent risk factor for attrition of all types (244), Self-reported arrest for a crime was independently related only to behavioral attrition (20).…”

“…Self-reported fighting while intoxicated was an independent risk factor for psychiatric/behavioral and legal discharges but not medical or inadequate performance discharges (244), Self-reported rebelliousness was an independent risk factor for attrition of all types (244), Self-reported arrest for a crime was independently related only to behavioral attrition (20). Self-reports of being jailed or being in a detention home were not related to basic training attrition (106). Laurence (156) examined the association of 1-year attrition with several indicators of moral character.…”

“…A100-item "personality inventory" was given to Army recruits by Danielson and Clark (49) and showed promise in that it correctly identified 63% of psychiatric discharges and 68% of other discharges. The Navy tested a 115-item yes-no questionnaire called the Recruit Temperament Survey (RTS) (24,106). A cluster of 17 RTS items, score on the Navy General Classification Test, score on a Mechanical Aptitude test, and expulsions or suspensions from school produced a criterion-related validity correlation of 0.50 with unsuitability attrition.…”

First-Term Attrition in the Navy: Causes and Proposed Solutions

“…The 17 items form a stress-linked cluster reflecting nervousness and emotionality. This cluster has been shown to predict attrition of Navy recruits for reason of inaptitude, enuresis, or character and behavior disorder (Hoiberg, Hysham, & Berry, 1973).…”