2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

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reasons such as ‘get away from family or personal situations’, ‘get away from hometown’, and
‘time to figure out what I want to do’. Although significant, these relationships were relatively
weak, and further examination of the relationship between the use of coping strategies and
reasons for joining the Navy, and any potentially related factors, should be conducted prior to
basing recruiting and/or selection decisions on these results.
Recruits who earned different types of education credentials differed on types of coping
strategies used more often, although all groups reported using the Problem-focused strategy most
often and the Avoidance strategy least often. The group of recruits who received a diploma from
parents or tutors for home schooling appeared least likely among the groups to use any one type
of coping strategy most often, which may indicate that these individuals are more likely to use a
variety of coping strategies at different times, depending on the situation at hand.
The results of the current study shed new light on the construct of coping strategies and
their relationship to the success of new recruits during initial recruit training and throughout the
first term of enlistment. These results lend support to the hypothesis that the employment of
different coping strategies may be important to this success and indicate that there may be
additional factors related to the use of coping strategies that will further contribute to knowledge
of the most salient issues related to the success of new recruits in the initial stages of training, as
well as throughout the first term of enlistment.
References
Edwards, J.M., & Trimble, K. (1992). Anxiety, coping and academic performance. Anxiety,
Stress, and Coping, 5, 337-350.
Lazarus, R.S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.
Mottern, J.A., White, M.A., & Alderton, D.L. (2002). 1 st watch on the first term of enlistment.
Paper presented at the 44 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing
Association, Ottawa, Canada.
Vitaliano, P.P., Russo, J., Carr, J.E., Maiuro, R.D., & Becker, J. (1985). The ways of coping
checklist: Revision and psychometric properties. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 20,
3-26.
45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003