Validity of the Military Applicant Profile (MAP) for Predicting Early Attrition in Different Educational, Age, and Racial Groups. Technical Report 567 [microform] / Newell K. Eaton and Others

The Military Applicant Profile (MAP) was developed to serve as an applicant screening instrument to reduce attrition in the all-volunteer Army. Since 1979, it has been used operationally to screen 17-year-old non-high school graduate males. The Army Research Institute was asked to explore the extension of MAP to older (above 17) nongraduate males, who have higher attrition rates than younger nongraduate males. Using 1976-77 data, this research evaluated the validity of MAP for education, race, and age subgroups. Results showed that MAP scores were significantly related to the 180-day stay-leave attrition criterion. Neither race (black/white) nor age interacted with the MAP-attrition relationship; education level did. The function relating MAP scores to attrition for graduates was significantly below that for nongraduates. MAP would appear to have great utility in reducing the much-higher attrition rate of nongraduates. These findings require verification, to be accomplished by research currently in progress. (Author/KC)