NCJ Number
54164
Date Published
1977
Length
12 pages
Annotation
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A SELECTION METHODOLOGY DESIGNED TO SCREEN FOR INDIVIDUALS ASSIGNED TO THE U.S. AIR FORCE SECURITY POLICE CAREER FIELD WHO WERE AT RISK OF LEAVING THE SERVICE DURING THEIR FIRST YEAR WAS EVALUATED.
Abstract
THE 4,502 RECRUITS OF THE SAMPLE WERE ADMINISTERED A TEST BATTERY CONSISTING OF BIOGRAPHICAL, ATTITUDINAL, AND INTEREST MEASURES DURING BASIC TRAINING. USING A CRITERION OF IN/OUT-OF-SERVICE (THE OUT-OF-SERVICE CLASSIFICATION WAS ASSIGNED TO THOSE MEN WHO WERE DISCHARGED ANY TIME DURING THE PERIOD AFTER ASSIGNMENT TO THE SECURITY POLICE CAREER FIELD) AFTER A MINIMUM PERIOD OF 1 YEAR ON THE JOB, REGRESSION ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PREDICTOR COMPOSITES. EFFORTS WERE MADE TO DECREASE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SELECTION COMPOSITE BY ELIMINATING ONE OR MORE OF THE EXPERIMENTAL TEST MEASURES OR MINIMIZING THE OVERALL NUMBERS OF TEST ITEMS. THREE SELECTION COMPOSITES CONTAINING DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF TEST ITEMS WERE DEVELOPED AND EVALUATED FOR PRACTICAL UTILITY IN IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUALS MOST LIKELY TO SEPARATE FROM SERVICE. RESULTS INDICATE THAT A SCREENING PROCEDURE COMPOSED OF APTITUDINAL, INTEREST, AND PERSONAL HISTORY DATA HAS SOME PRACTICAL UTILITY IN THE SCREENING OF ENTRANTS INTO THE SECURITY POLICE FIELD. WHILE THE SELECTION SYSTEM WOULD IDENTIFY A CERTAIN PROPORTION OF PERSONS WHO WOULD TERMINATE THIS CAREER LINE, THE NUMBER OF POTENTIALLY SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS WHO WOULD BE INDENTIFIED AS FAILURES LIMITS ITS USEFULNESS. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT IMPROVED LEADERSHIP TECHNIQUES AND PERSONNEL-ORIENTED COUNSELING PROGRAMS BE INITIATED TO ACHIEVE A HIGHER LEVEL OF MOTIVATION AND PROFESSIONALISM AMONG SECURITY POLICE INSTEAD OF ATTEMPTING TO DEVELOP A NEW SCREENING TECHNIQUE. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--DAG)