The Career Decision Survey: Modeling the Army Enlistment Decision

Abstract : This technical report documents results from the Career Decision Survey. This survey was developed as a theory-based instrument designed to validate an application of Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) psychological theory of reasoned action. As applied to career choice, this theory hypothesizes a direct relationship between the beliefs youths have regarding a particular career choice and their attitude toward the career. This attitude, in turn, directly influences intention to pursue the career. In addition, the theory states that career intentions are strongly influenced by the opinions of significant social influencers (e.g., parents). Findings validate and support the adoption of this theory as a useful perspective for analyzing Army enlistment intentions. Using individual respondents beliefs and perceptions alone, this model explained between 46% and 61% of the observed variance in career choice intentions. That is, ARI Technical Report 814 using a relatively small number of questions that asked youths about their beliefs and opinions and those of persons important to them, the models were able to very accurately predict career intentions.