Who Chooses Military Service? Correlates of Propensity and Enlistment in the U.S. Armed Forces

Abstract

This article examines factors correlated with plans for military service (military propensity) and actual enlistment. It reports bivariate and multivariate regression analyses, conducted separately for men and women, using survey data from nationwide samples totaling more than 100,000 U.S. high school seniors (classes of 1984–1991), and follow-up data from a subsample of more than 15,000 of the high school seniors obtained 1 or 2 years after graduation. Correlations between propensity and actual enlistment are high among women (η = .38) and very high among men (η = .57). Enlistment rates are lower among individuals with college-educated parents, high grades, and college plans; rates are higher among men, African Americans, Hispanics, and those who view military work roles as attractive. These relations are interpreted primarily as indirect effects on enlistment via propensity.