The Adjustment of New Recruits to Military Life in the Chinese Army

Abstract

In this article, the authors present the findings of two studies analyzing new recruits' adjustment to army life in the Chinese military. In the first exploratory study, we developed a scale to measure new recruits' adjustment to military life, and found that new soldiers' adaptation could be divided into two distinct types: interpersonal adjustment and training adjustment. Interpersonal adjustment was a soldier's ability to build harmonious relationships with peer soldiers, supervisors, and military officers. Training adjustment was a soldier's ability to achieve standards of professional competence and military training. Based on the findings of this first study, the authors conducted a second study to investigate the predictive power of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) on new recruits' adjustment. The results of this longitudinal study indicated that MMPI-2 could predict the initial stages of both interpersonal and training adjustment, as well as the subsequent change rate of these two types of adjustment. Our analyses have several important implications for recruiting, selecting, and training Chinese military leaders and human resource professionals.

Latent Classes based on Clinical Symptoms of Military Recruits with Mental Health Issues and Their Distinctive Clinical Responses to Treatment over 6 Months

“…Previous research has suggested that recruits with mental diseases tended to malfunction during military training and duties [ 22 , 23 ]. In a similar context, previous studies have demonstrated that recruits with higher scores on the clinical scales of MMPI- 2 have more mental health problems and difficulties in both initial and subsequent adjustment to military service and tend to be separated from the military early [ 5 , 24 ].…”

“…However, few studies have used this tool to investigate the psychological characteristics of recruits with a risk of maladjustment to military service. A longitudinal study in China demonstrated that MMPI-2 is a valid tool for predicting adaptation to military service by recruits [ 5 ]. That study found that higher MMPI-2 scores worsened the early adaptation of recruits.…”

Predicting counselors’ academic and internship outcomes: Evidence for the incremental validity of the MMPI-2.

“…Although the MMPI was originally developed for assessment of clinical populations, the MMPI-2 was normed on a nonclinical sample. One of its current uses is screening applicants for sensitive occupations such as clergy, law enforcement, and military (e.g., Plante & Boccaccini, 1998; Reaves, 2010; Rosik, Renteria, & Pittman, 2012; Xiao, Han, & Han, 2011), or for training programs in medicine, psychology, and the seminary (e.g., Butcher, Ones, & Cullen, 2006; Marlett, Wetherbee, & Donofrio, 2012). These occupations can be associated with high stress, personal risk, and a high degree of personal responsibility (Butcher, 1991).…”

“…For example, the MMPI and MMPI-2 have been used extensively in the selection of police officers (e.g., Detrick, Chibnall, & Rosso, 2001; Weiss, Serafino, Serafino, Willson, & Knoll, 1998) and have been found effective at predicting future job performance (e.g., Chibnall & Detrick, 2003). Other occupations for which the MMPI or MMPI-2 has demonstrated efficacy for employee selection include nuclear power plant operators (e.g., Kelley, Jacobs, & Farr, 1994), military personnel (e.g., Staal, Cigrang, & Fiedler, 2000; Xiao et al, 2011), clergy (e.g., Plante, Aldridge, & Louie, 2005), pastoral counselors (Marlett et al, 2012), and hospital administrators (Thumin, 2002).…”