Research for Reports

The Family Service Centers (FSCs) present a diverse set of services to Marines and their families. This report presents the results of a study of Marine Corps family programs provided by the FSCs. These services include personal, family, and financial counseling, employment assistance, help for victims of domestic violence, and other services. Data from the 1985 DOD Member and Spouse surveys, USMC exit questionnaires, administrative records, and special purpose surveys of FSC directors and Marine unit commanders are used to assess the success of FSCs in meeting the objectives of serving commanders and Marines and their families and to estimate the impact of family programs on Marine retention.

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is administered in high schools as part of the Defense Department's recruiting effort. Norms based on a national sample are currently available for grades 11 and 12 only. These were computed from data collected by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) in 1980. Additional data from a nonrandom sample were collected in 1984 by the Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM). The objectives of the present study were to examine the psychometric appropriateness of using the ASVAB in 9th and 10th grades and to develop norms for these grades. Analysis of appropriateness was based on conventional test and item statistics, and factor analysis. The use of ASVAB in 9th and 10th grades was found to be psychometrically appropriate. Ninth and 10th grade norms were developed by transforming MEPCOM cumulative percentages into national percentile scores. Transformation curves were obtained by combining information from MEPCOM and NORC samples in grades 11 and 12. The average transformation was then used in 9th and 10th grades to convert MEPCOM cumulative percentages into national percentile scores.

This report describes the construction of a new score scale for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). The ASVAB was administered to a nationally representative sample of young adults in the fall of 1980. The test scores for this sample were used to construct the new score scale, called the 1980 ASVAB score scale. On 1 October 1984, the 1980 score scale replaced the World War II scale, used by the Department of Defense (DoD) since 1950. The new score scale provides nationally representative test norms that enable DoD personnel and manpower managers to compare the aptitudes of military recruits with those of the potential supply of recruits in the civilian youth population.

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) was validated against training grades in 34 Marine Corps occupational specialties. Four aptitude composites for assigning Marine recruits to occupational specialties were developed and evaluated. The high predictive validity of the ASVAB supports its continued use for selecting recruits and assigning them to occupational specialties. The fairness of the aptitude composites as predictors of performance was evaluated for racial/ethnic minorities and females.