Psychological Conditions and Attrition from U.S. Navy Recruit Training.

摘要

This thesis examines information on attrition from the Navy's Recruit Training Center (RTC) for psychological reasons. This information is based on an analysis of the PRIDE and CETARS databases in addition to the interpretation of an RTC Legal Department database. A total of 227,842 PRIDE records, 233,152 CETARS records, and 4,279 Legal recruit records were analyzed. These records were used to validate the psychological attrition numbers uncovered in previous studies, to critique information presented in the CETARS and PRIDE databases, and to discover what specific psychological disorders were the actual cause of the majority of attrition at RTC. The results from the PRIDE and CETARS databases indicate that, from fiscal year 2000 through 2004, over 36 percent of all attrition was for psychological reasons. It further shows that the pre-service categories of Personality Disorder and Pre-Service Psychological account for nearly 90 percent of this attrition. The analysis of the Legal database indicated that over 85 percent of the diagnoses fell into the categories of Personality Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, Depressive Disorder, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. The authors conclude that the psychological attrition categories in the PRIDE and CETARS databases are too broad for specific interpretation of RTC recruit information and construction of a new database is recommended.