Changes in Young Men's Attitudes toward Military Service: Jerald G. Bachman Survey Research Center The University of Michigan

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1 Changes in Yung Men's Attitudes tward Military Service: Fall 1966 t Spring 1968 INSTITUTE FR SCIAL RESEARCH LIBRARY Jerald G. Bachman Survey Research Center The University f Michigan 9 f ARCHIVE I am a bit surprised at finding myself reprting n yung men's attitudes tward military service. Attitudes tward military service were nt amng the majr research interests that prmpted Rbert Kahn and me t undertake what we've called the Yuth in Transitin prject. We set ut t study a brad range f changes that ccur in adlescent bys during their high schl years, and then relate these changes t imprtant scial envirnments particularly schl and wrk envirnments. v Much f ur interest is fcused n changes in bys alng dimensins f "persnality" r "mental health" dimensins such as affective states, selfcncepts, values and attitudes. We are als quite interested in the plans and behavirs f yung men, particularly, thse relating t educatinal and ccupatinal aspiratins and achievements.. We did nt, as I said, have any special interest in attitudes tward military service and related matters; cnsequently, we did nt ask abut them directly in ur Interviews and questinnaires. Nevertheless, these are indeed issues f great imprtance t many f the yung men participating in ur study; frtunately, ne pen-ended sectin f ur interview gave them the pprtunity t express sme f their thughts in this area. And that, in a nutshell, is hw I happen t be reprting data n yung men's attitudes tpward military service. The Yuth in Transitin study is a lngitudinal ne. I t began with a natinwide sample f ver tw thusand.tenth-grade bys wh cmpleted a sequence f persnal Interviews, tests, and questinnaires in the Fall f Eighty-five percent f the bys.in that i n i t i a l sample participated in a secnd rund f interviews and questinnaires carried ut in Spring f 1968, as

2 mst f them were nearing the end f eleventh grade. (At least ne mre rund f data cllectin is planned fr late 1969 r early 1970.)* Since ur prject is fcused n changes that ccur during the high schl years, mst prtins f ur interview and questinnaire are repeated at each data cllectin. ne such repeated measure is an interview segment designed t discver majr surces f truble r dissatisfactin. The respndent is f i r s t asked t t e l l abut sme f the things he feels pretty happy abut these days. The interviewer tells htm t "Try t include here everything that's imprtant t yu yur family, friends, schl r ther things yu may be happy abut r pleased with." After the respndent has answered this questin usually mentining tw r three surces f happiness the interviewer asks a questin dealing with surces f unhappiness. "Many peple have tld us abut, things they're nt cmpletely happy abut. What are sme things yu're nt t happy abut these days?" I t was at this pint that sme f the bys first tk the pprtunity t mentin the draft and the war in Vietnam. In Fall 1966, when they were starting tenth grade, abut eleven percent f ur respndents mentined these issues as things they were nt very happy abut. A few questins later in the interview we apprached the same general area f unhappiness In a manner designed t be a bit less persnal arid prbing. "Nw there's a mre general questin I'd like t ask. Can yu tell me sme f the prblems yung men yur age wrry abut mst?" If the respndent did nt mentin smething clearly in the future, he was als asked: "What things d they wrry abut that might happen in the future?" And i f the respndent did nt riginally mentin smething clearly in the present, he was asked: "What things d they wrry abut that are happening right nw?" At Time 1 (Fall f 1966) there was l i t t l e mentin f the war and the draft until the specific questin abut "...things that might happen in the future." Then ver a quarter f ur respndents said that these things were a future wrry t yung men their age. The Time 2 data cllectin was carried ut in Spring-f 1968s- n the basis f ur earlier findings, we: were quite eager t see whether the war and military service were mre trublesme t ur respndents, at the pint when they Fr a cmplete descriptin f the Yuth in Transitin study, see Bachman, J. G., et al, Yuth in transitin: vlume I Blueprint fr a lngitudinal study f adlescent bys. Ann Arbr, Mich.: Survey Research Center, Institute fr Scial Research, 1967.

3 were nearing the. end f eleventh grade. The interviews were cded and prcessed using the same categries as were used at Time 1, thus permitting a fairly accurate cntrasting f attitudes early in tenth grade with attitudes late In eleventh grade. 3 Table 1 presents respnses at Times. 1 and 2 t the questin: "...What are sme things yu 1 re nt t happy abut these days?" The table reprduces the majr cding categries develped t classify respnses t this pen-ended questin, and i t als shws the detailed cdes within the "Public Affairs" categry. A summary picture f the data is presented in Figure 1. The figure shws a number f features clearly. First f a l l, things having t d with educatin lead a l l thers as surces f unhappiness. But i t is als clear that public affairs (separated int tw clumns in Figure 1) are a very prminent surce f unhappiness. Lking nw at the cntrast between Time 1 and Time 2, we find that there is an increase in unhappiness in nly tw areas: public affairs, particularly the draft and the Vietnam war, and als jbs. These are certainly tw areas likely t be increasingly n the minds f yung men as they apprach the final year f high schl. A mre striking cntrast between Times 1 and 2 appears in the answers t this questin: "...Can yu t e l l me sme f the prblems yung men yur age wrry abut mst?" Figure 2 indicates that the draft and the Vietnam war are dramatically mre imprtant at Time 2 (38 percent) than at Time 1 (7 percent). The area f jbs als shws a sizeable increase in mentins (frm 13 percent t 23 percent). As we nted earlier, there were tw mre specific questins.abut things bys wrry abut. These questins, and the respnses t them, are presented in Table 2, We saw earlier (in Figure 2) that the answers t Questin 5 shw a dramatic increase in mentins f the draft and the Vietnam war. In Questins 5a and 5b, hwever, the differences are nt nearly s striking. When asked abut future wrries in Questin 5a, 26 percent f the respndents mentined the draft and the war at Time 1, while 32 percent mentined these issues at Time 2. Questin 5b dealt with things "...that are happening right nw," and was asked in nly a minrity f cases where answers t earlier questins did nt clearly refer t the present. The percentages f respndents mentining the draft and the war as a surce f wrry right nw were nine percent at Time 1, and ten percent at Time 2.

4 4 Table 1 Things Respndents Are Nt Happy- Abut Q. 2. Many peple have tld us abut things they're nt cmpletely happy abut. What are sme things yu're nt t happy abut these days? PUBLIC AFFAIRS, ACMPLISHMENTS, R PERCENT RESPNDENTS MENTINING: Time 1: Fall, 1966 (N=2514) Mentined: } Time 2: Spring, (N=2164) Mentined: st 2nd 3rd I'tal 1st 2nd 3rd Ttal The draft; the Vietnam War... 7: ppsitin t war; anti-war factins ther wrld situatins; Cmmunism; Space and science achievements;. ther nn-plitical wrld , Inflatin; prices ging up Civil rights; racial prblems; , ' ther natinal situatins; patritism; natinal leaders; vte i THER PERSNAL PRBLEMS/ACMPLISHMENTS INAPPLICABLE; N FURTHER MENTINS;

5 50 -I I Time 1: Fall, 1966 (10th grade) Y/SA Time 2: Spring, 1968 (11th grade) ta E I c_> 10 -I l a. QC i-i ui <C fefc z: "3 UJ I I t I h- #-«>" UJ l * t h- t < Q- 00 Ul 01»-* D h- ^3 Z UJ I I C a: LU r Figure 1. Answers t Questtn 2: "Many peple have tld us abut things they're nt cmpletely happy abut. What are sme things yu're nt t happy abut these days?"

6 PERCENT F RESPNDENTS MENTINING r r cn S &> > cr 3 c l c+ t -s m tn rtc+ =3 J c << c c+ rf 0> _ j i 3 3 rr -h -s r+ 3" " PU -s 3 cr > a L t c -~s 3 t * DRAFT, VIETNAM WAR THER PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATIN JBS ACTIVITIES, PSSESSINS \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\^ \\\\\\\\\\^ r t t ~s at Q- l 0\ -s a*. r C r+ _i. c: 3 i i Q_ i i. -5 7T -5 << INTERPERSNAL RELATINS THER as

7 7 Table 2 Things Bys Wrry Abut Q. 5. Nw there's, a mre general questin I'd like t ask. Can yu t e l l me sme f the prblems yung men yur age wrry abut mst? Q. 5a. (If NT'MENTINED): What d they wrry abut that might happen in the future? Q, 5b. (IE NT MENTINED): What things d they wrry abut that are happening, right nw? TTAL PERCENT RESPNDENTS MENTINING : a Time 1: Fall, 1966 (N=2514) Time 2:.Spring, 1968 (N=2164) Q5 Q5a Q5b Q5 Q5a Q5b PUBLIC AFFAIRS, ACMPLISHMENTS, The draft; the Vietnam War. 7, ACTIVITIES AND PSSESSINS ' ' THER PERSNAL PRBLEMS R Percentages were based n three mentins fr Q5; tw mentins fr Q5a; and ne mentin fr Q5b.

8 8 T summarize, at Time 1 when ur respndents were starting tenth grade, they seldm mentined the draft and the war until they were asked abut future wrries. But at Time 2 when they were near the end f eleventh gradej the war and the draft were mentined much earlier in the sequence f questins by a large number f bys. The data we've examined thus far cntrast Time T and Time 2 using identical cding prcedures. Prir t cding the Time 2 data, hwever, i t seemed useful t us t add a special cding prcedure t deal in greater detail with attitudes tward the Vietnam war and military service. This prcedure called fr an additinal cding f any mentin in the "Public Affairs" cde categry. There were a number f questins, including all thse described here and several mre, in which the respndent culd have mentined public affairs issues. Whenever the tpic came up, n matter which questin initially prmpted i t, the respnse was given the additinal special cding. The results f this special cding are seen in Table 3. At Time 2 there were abut 72 percent f the respndents wh mentined smething in the public affairs area as a surce f unhappiness r wrry. Five percent were cncerned with general wrld situatins; the rest were cncerned with specific issues relating t the draft and/r the war. The percentages mentining each issue may be read frm Table 3, but a few bear special attentin. A ttal f frty percent f ur bys nearing the end f eleventh grade said that the draft system, r the prspect f being drafted, was a sburce'f unhappiness r wrry. An additinal fur and a half percent expressed specific cncern abut ging t Vietnam t fight. Anther twenty percent bjected in a mre general way t the war. In the aggregate, ver tw-thirds f ur respndents mentined. ne r mre f these issues as a surce f cncern t themselves persnally, and/r t yung men their age. These aggregate statistics are impressive, but they are smewhat abstract. Perhaps we shuld lk at just a few illustratins f what ur respndents actually said. ne yung man, when asked what he is nt t happy abut, said: "The war in Vietnam. Sme f the thughts peple have n Vietnam are pretty bad. I dn't g fr kids eighteen and nineteen being shipped verseas right in the prime f life and say tw ut.f eight dn't cme back. It's stupid." Anther respndent said this abut the strategy used in Vietnam: "I'm nt happy with President Jhnsn because he's letting his plitics run the war

9 9 TABLE 3 -Speci-al Cding f Attitudes 'Tward Vietnam War and ''Military Service PERCENT F RESPNDENTS MENTINING AT TIME 2: SPRING 1968 (N = 2164) 1st Mentin 2nd Mentin rd Mentin Ttal ' ' a Cnduct f the war; the "strategy".1.1 ppsitin t the war; agree with.2.2 ' Idea f enlisting; military career ' ther wrld situatins (e.g., Cmmunism, , : Cnduct f the war; the "strategy".7 ' ppsitin t the war; disagree with Idea f enlisting; military career ther wrld situatins (e.g., Cmmunism, INAPPLICABLE; N (FURTHER) MENTIN F

10 when i f we ran"it like Wrld War I I we culd end I t In a few mnths. That's what makes me sick abut that guy." A drput, asked abut surces f unhappiness, said: "ne main big ne is ging t Vietnam. I quit schl and jined the Army which I never shuld have dne." ne respndent summed up the wrries f many when he mentined: "The thught war will r may wreck my l i f e. I can't really plan fr the future." 10 As I said at the start, we did nt set ut in the Yuth in Transitin study t examine attitudes tward war and the military service. Instead, we left i t fr ur respndents t t e l l us what were the majr prblems in their lives and the lives f ther yung men their age. What they have tld us Is that the draft and the war lm much larger nw than they did eighteen mnths earlier. Whether this large shift in attitudes reflects primarily the increased prximity f military service fr many f ur respndents, r the increased natinal cncern fcused n the war in Vietnam, cannt be determined frm theser'data alne. What is_ abundantly clear frm ur data is terribly imprtant, i f nt surprising: yung men nearing the end f high schl have grave misgivings abut the war and the prspect f their wn military service.

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