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Author: Schultz, Melinda Joy
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Schultz, Melinda Joy
Taylor, Brennan
Depression and Military Enlistment
Presented: Reno/Sparks NV, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Pacific Sociological Association Meeting, March 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Pacific Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Depression (see also CESD); Happiness (see Positive Affect/Optimism); Life Course; Military Enlistment; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Transition, Adulthood

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using a fixed effects model, we will analyze self-reported depression indicators, such as happiness, sadness, friends/family connections, and military enlistment of respondents from waves 1 through 14 of National Longitudinal Survey 1997 (NLSY97) from 1997 to 2010 for any association between the variables. The nature of this dataset will provide insight into the long- term mental health histories of respondents who were 12 to 16 years old when the survey began in 1997. Following these adolescents from such a young age until their time of enlistment (age 17 at the youngest) will allow us to track their self-reported levels of depression, identifying patterns correlated with their time of enlistment. The results will be discussed in relation to life course theory in how the outcomes of events that effect life happiness throughout one’s adolescence may lead them to decide to enlist in the military, as well as the process of “knifing off” that acts as a turning point in the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Bibliography Citation
Schultz, Melinda Joy and Brennan Taylor. "Depression and Military Enlistment." Presented: Reno/Sparks NV, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Pacific Sociological Association Meeting, March 2013.