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Prediction of Resilience 11

completed penetration when the woman was incapable of giving consent by
virtue of intoxication; and 27.7% used both the threat of force or force as well
as alcohol or drugs. In a larger study using two additional samples, 11.6% and
9.9% of male U.S. Navy recruits reported having committed rape, and 2–4%
reported that they had attempted to commit rape (Merrill, Thomsen, Gold &

Milner, 2001).
Flyer (1996) examined the legal backgrounds of 100,000 male recruits
who had enlisted in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Air Force

between 1985 and 1989. This study included analysis of various records,

including state (California) arrest and citation files, the California his-
tory database that includes juvenile records, and results from the Entrance
National Agency Check (ENTNAC). (At the time of the study, the ENTNAC
consisted of a limited background check conducted as part of the process
for granting confidential/secret clearance.) Flyer found that more than

one of four recruits (27%) had an arrest record and 7% had an unfavorable
ENTNAC report. Recruits with a preservice arrest history were much more
likely to be separated from military service due to unsuitability (36%) than
were recruits who had no preservice arrests (21%). Even when controlling
for education level, Flyer found that preservice arrest history was strongly
related to separation from the military due to unsuitability.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that preservice criminal behavior may
also be related to subsequent criminal activity while serving in the military.
Although fortunately rare, criminal incidents involving members of the U.S.
military sometimes do occur and may reveal preservice antisocial behavior as
a relevant antecedent condition. For example, two incidents that occurred in
Iraq were reported to have involved soldiers whose violent preservice crimi-
nal histories may have portended trouble (Carollo & Kaplow, 2005). Although
anecdotal evidence of a link between preservice and in-service antisocial or
criminal behavior is for now strictly anecdotal, it seems reasonable and obvi-
ous that individuals with a preservice history of criminal or violent behavior
should be very closely and conservatively scrutinized prior to acceptance for
service in the U.S. military.
The propensity for aggressive and impulsive behavior has also been linked

to an increased risk for suicide (Apter, Plutchik & van Praag, 1993; McKeown
et al., 1998; Sourander, Helstela, Haavisto & Bergroth, 2001). For example, in
a Finnish longitudinal study (Sourander et al., 2001), aggressive 8-year-olds
were more than twice as likely as other children to report 8 years later that
they had considered or attempted suicide. Among the general population,
disruptive disorders are common in male teenage suicide victims. Conduct

disorder, often comorbid with mood, anxiety, or substance abuse disorder,
has been documented in approximately one-third of suicides among male

teenagers (Brent et al., 1993; Shaffer et al., 1996).

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