Gender and trauma as predictors of military attrition: a study of Marine Corps recruits.
Recent studies have shown high rates of premilitary trauma exposure among U.S. military enlistees. Given the association of trauma with later stressor vulnerability, it is important to examine the role of premilitary stress and trauma in adaptation to the stress of recruit training. U.S. Marine Corps recruits (N = 1,530) were surveyed for premilitary histories of interpersonal trauma to examine the relationship between premilitary trauma and attrition from recruit training. The majority of the recruits (47.5% of men and 68.1% of women) reported experiencing at least one interpersonal trauma before entering the Marine Corps. Individuals with a history of interpersonal trauma were at significantly greater risk for attrition; they were 1.5 times more likely to drop out of recruit training than were individuals without a trauma history. These findings suggest that developing interventions to bolster recruits' coping skills may improve adaptation to the recruit training environment and thus decrease attrition.
Wolfe
Jessica
J
National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA.
Turner
Kiban
K
Caulfield
Marie
M
Newton
Tamara L
TL
Melia
Katherine
K
Martin
James
J
Goldstein
Jill
J
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D040921:Stress Disorders, Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology