Psychological Problems among 12th-Grade Students Predicting Military Enlistment: Findings from the Monitoring the Future Survey

Abstract

Objective-Rates of some psychological disorders are higher among enlisted U.S. military personnel than socio-demographically matched civilians. Indirect evidence suggests some internalizing and externalizing psychological problems among enlistees onset prior to enlistment. However, the consistency and strength of the associations between pre-enlistment psychological problems and enlistment over time is unknown. We address this uncertainty by examining whether internalizing and externalizing problems in high school predicted subsequent military enlistment using a large cohort-sequential panel study. Method-TheMonitoring the Future study administered baseline surveys from 1989-2014 and biennial follow-up surveys two and four years later to national samples of high-school seniors (n = 20,823). Validated self-report scales assessed internalizing (depression, low self-esteem) and externalizing (risk-taking, school misbehavior, conduct disorder, interpersonal violence, alcohol, and drug use) problems in each survey. Follow-up surveys assessed military enlistment. Logistic regression models were used to estimate associations of problems scales with subsequent enlistment.

Parental suicide attempt and subsequent risk of pre‐enlistment suicide attempt among male and female new soldiers in the U.S. Army

“…Third, as the majority of soldiers in this representative sample were male, statistical power for stratified analyses was lower for female soldiers. It is also important to recognize that while female soldiers in the NSS are representative of female soldiers entering basic training during the study period, they differ from women in the civilian population on a number socio‐demographic and psychological characteristics (Chu et al, 2020; Office of the Under Secretary for Personnel & Readiness, 2012). Further studies are needed to include larger number of female participants.…”