Study of the Effects of Commitment and Anxiety on Attrition at the United States Air Force Academy Using a Catastrophe Model

摘要

This thesis determined the effects of an individual's trait anxiety and level of organizational commitment on attrition at the United States Air Force Academy. The subjects of this study were entering cadets to the Academy's Class of 1986. The major areas of concern in this study were the applicability of the cusp catastrophe model in modeling behavioral attributes and the usefulness of the trait variables in explaining attrition. The study concluded that the cusp model could be useful in modeling attrition, and that trait curiosity was better than trait anxiety in predicting attrition. The data base consisted of results from the surveys given to the cadets during their first two years of attendance at the Academy, and of their actual military and academic performance scores. The analysis was accomplished by cusp regression analysis, multiple regression analysis, ANOVA, analysis of the coefficients of determination, and correlational analysis. The results indicated that all of the regression models were significant and that organizational commitment was not a significant parameter in any of the models. Keywords: Air Force personnel, Catastrophe theory, Theses. (sdw)