I__. - International Military Testing Association

Discussion
Certain characteristics of this effort suggest that we
should treat these findings cautiously. We are dealing with
self-report; thus, all limitations associated with self report
measures must be considered. We have observed a positive
relationship between self-reported difficulty in lifting an
object and performance on a more objective measure, the MEPSCAT,
however, so we do feel the results do deserve to be looked at
seriously. We should also point out that we are dealing here
with but two items on an Il-item scale. Until we can report more
thoroughly the results of all the items, as well as the results
from the supervisor version of the PRQ and from a variety of.
additional performance measures administered concurrently with
the PRQ, these results should be considered as just a slice from
a much larger picture.
Having expressed these caveats, what should we make of the
results? The good news is that soldiers do not report widespread
difficulties with the physical demands of their jobs. The
somewhat surprising news is that the overall differences between
self-reported male and female difficulty are not particularly
great.
But when we look beneath the surface, the picture is not ali
that simple. There are major job differences, some not terribly
surprising, some perhaps deserving further investigation. Why
are the physical demands of being a mechanic, for example,
apparently so much greater for females than for males? Why is
there a similar disparity for truck drivers?
The item on weight/strength training also revealed some
interesting news. It is those people who are already strongest
(in terms of their MEPSCAT scores) who are most convinced of the
benefits of weight/strength training. Of course, since these
individuals may be concentrated in jobs where the physical
demands are the greatest, the true meaning of this finding awaits
further analysis. While it may not be surprising that clerks see
less need for strength training than do those in combat jobs, the
extent to which clerks seem to view strength training as not
particularly helpful is perhaps beyond what one might expect.
The results reported here are best considered as a preview
of things to come. Further analyses on a data set allowing a
much broader set of-comparisons, and at a higher level of
sophistication, than could be completed at this time will follow.
Thus, we will forego the temptation to draw major conclusions
until we have travelled somewhat further along the data analysis
road.
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