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Prediction of Resilience 7

thus far, ongoing evaluations are needed. Follow-up data should be gathered
over a number of years to adequately address the question of attrition from
military service. Also, it is important to clarify if the addition of the AIM to
the other components of the TTAS leads to an increment in validity.
An Early Psychiatric Screen (EPS) is still undergoing evaluation through
research (Koltko-Rivera & Niebuhr, 2004). This test was designed and

developed* for use prior to basic training, to identify psychiatric conditions
such as anxiety, depression, mania, psychosis, and antisocial tendencies.
However, because the EPS is still in the early stages of evaluation, conclu-
sions cannot yet be drawn concerning its validity. †
Finally, a new biodata screening instrument, the Lackland Behavioral
Questionnaire (Lackland BQ; Garb, 2005), has been designed for the
screening of all U.S. Air Force recruits during basic training. Th e Lackland
BQ is designed to gather biodata relevant to preservice adjustment, includ-
ing antisocial behavior and behavior related to mental disorder and treat-

ment. The decision to employ a biodata questionnaire was based in part
on an examination of the results that were obtained by the study of earlier
biodata tests such as the ASP, ASAP, and ASPEN. Because the Lackland BQ
was only recently constructed, research data on its validity are still being
collected.

Risk Factors for Stress and Attrition

In extreme or dangerous conditions, the ability to perform under stress may
be nothing less than critical to psychological and physical survival. Adequate
training is certainly necessary to improve survivability under stress, and the
demands of military training are oft en an effective means to “weed out”

individuals who lack the fortitude or commitment to endure the harsh and
prolonged challenges of combat.
Although BMT is helpful as a means to de-select recruits who have low
tolerance for the basic demands of military performance, it is not a perfect

filter by which to identify all entrants who might eventually succumb to

stress. Our most current perspective on first-term attrition emerges from a
review published in 2004 by the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and
Preventive Medicine at the request of the Center for Accessions Research
(Knapik, Jones, Hauret, Darakjy & Piskator, 2004). Findings reported in this

* Development of the EPS was sponsored by the Accession Medical Standards Analysis
and Research Activity (AMSARA), within the Division of Preventive Medicine at the
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
† Results on convergent validity (but not discriminant validity) have been reported for a
sample of college students (Koltko-Rivera & Niebuhr, 2004). Results have not yet been
reported for data gathered from military personnel.

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