Joseph M. Rothberg

Cohesion and Readiness in Gender-Integrated Combat Service Support Units: The Impact of Acceptance of Women and Gender Ratio

Cohesion, combat readiness and acceptance of women were examined among male and female junior enlisted soldiers and male noncommissioned officers (NCOs) in 19 combat service support companies. The proportion of junior enlisted females in each company was negatively correlated with mean cohesion and readiness scores for junior enlisted males. The proportion of NCO females was significantly correlated with the proportion of soldiers who said they did not expect to deploy with their units, which in turn was negatively correlated with cohesion for male NCOs. For junior enlisted males, results indicated that cohesion and combat readiness increased with increased acceptance of women, but decreased as the proportion of females in the unit increased. Furthermore, acceptance of women decreased as the proportion of females in the unit increased. The results are interpreted in the light of two competing hypotheses regarding minority proportional representation-the tokenism hypothesis and the minority-proportion discrimination hypothesis.

Stress and Suicide in the U.S. Army: Effects of Relocation on Service Members' Mental Health

The evidence from sociological and epidemiological studies indicates that people who migrate or move their residence tend to have higher rates of suicide than nonmovers. The periodic reassignment and relocation of soldiers places them, in theory, at higher risk for suicide. There are no prior reports of the relationship between Army moves and suicides. The findings of the current report are that the correlation of moves and suicide is not present for the majority of the soldiers but is present for the youngest third of the Army population. Some aspects of the individual and social dynamics that may influence the relation between relocation and suicide are provided, and some issues about the applicability of status-integration theory to relocation-related suicides are raised.

Illness and Health Of the U.S. Battalion In The Sinai MFO Deployment

The deployment of the U.S. Battalion to the Sinai as part of the first wave multinational force and observers was a physical and psychosocial stress on the involved soldiers from the 82d Airborne Division. This paper examines the medical care utilization associated with the six-month move to the Sinai and the base-camp and outpost duty rotations. The frequency and the reasons given for requesting medical service, as well as their timing in relation to the military mission, provide a detailed example of the use of health care as a stress coping mechanism. The potential for monitoring health care utilization as an indicator of the stressful aspects of policy decisions is also discussed.

Predicting Involvement with Illicit Drugs Part I: Development of the Instrument.

This report describes some of the methodological issues raised in a feasibility study to develop a psychological test to predict illicit drug use. A small set of questions was found with different responses as a function of prior drug use. The ability of these questions to discriminate groups on the basis of prior drug use was maintained in a cross-validation study with different subjects. The extent to which these attitudinal correlates of drug use might be attitudinal predictors of drug use is being evaluated in a prospective study the results of which will be reported at a later time.