The Veteran a Myth

8/12/2019 The Veteran a Myth

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-veteran-a-myth 1/13

American Association for Public Opinion Research

"The" Veteran-A MythAuthor(s): Leo P. Crespi and G. Schofield ShapleighSource: The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Autumn, 1946), pp. 361-372Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Association for Public Opinion Research

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2745539 .Accessed: 05/12/2013 12:36

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

American Association for Public Opinion Research and Oxford University Press are collaborating with JSTORto digitize, preserve and extend access to The Public Opinion Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 193 .198.212.70 on Thu, 5 Dec 20 13 12:36:25 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=oup

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aapor

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2745539?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp





http://www.jstor.org/stable/2745539?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aapor

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=oup



THE VETERAN-A MYTHBYLEOP. CRESPIANDG.SCHOFIELDSHAPLEIGHSWEEPING statements ave been made aboutthe veteran- the veteran as become ess

moral, ess religious, ess independent, morerestless, tc. Disturbed y these eneralizations,the authors went to a group of veterans hem-selves-asked them how they had reacted otheir war experiences. he results will be an

eyeopener oarmchair heorists,nd a welcomelift to persons whose job it is to work withex-fighting en.

Dr. Crespi s Assistant rofessor f Psychol-ogy at Princeton niversity; is co-author asuntil recently student t the same university.

IN THE CLOSING STAGES of thewar nd n its present ftermath, he f-fects f military xperiencespon he sychologyfveterans ave omein for wideconsideration.here has been an evident isposition nthese iscussionso peak enerally f the eteran-the eterainhinksthis, he veteran eels hat, he veteran ants his. uchwidth f gen-eralizationn the characterizationf veterans as not been confinedmerely o the ournalistic ritings; he scholarly reatments eem

equally o abound n sweeping ssertions.Waller, n perhaps heoutstandingociologicalppraisal f veter-ans,1 xhibits rand isregard or ualifications henhe states: Theparents hom he [the veteran] as dealized eem trange ohim; hecannot ind words o talk with hem, e cannot olerate heirwell-meantministrations. nd further, The regimentation f the ivesofmillions f men nvolves . . some amage o their ense f self ndto their ower o think or hemselves. . . The soldier . . loses he

sense f self-direction. he stage s set for heuniversalizingallacyin the very itles riters mploy.Waller's, or xample,sThe VeteranComesBack, nd another venmore evealings, The PersonatlityftheReturned eteran.2With uch n initial rientation,anreaders s-cape thinking f veterans s a monolithic nity?

Thecautiouscientistsmotivatedo nquire- Has very eteranlost apport ith isfamily Hasevery eteran uffered decreasenindependencend self-directionn the conduct f his affairs? urely

suchunlimited haracterizationsmply, t the minimum, verpower-ing trends. oes suchuniformityn the ffects f wartime xperiencein fact ccur?

1 Willard Waller, The Veteran omes Back. DrydenPress, 944, pp. 93, II9.2 MajorMilton . Miller, The Personality f the Returned eteran, Hygeia,February, 946.

This content downloaded from 19 3.198.212.70 on Thu, 5 Dec 20 13 12:36:25 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions






362 PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY, FALL1946

Even the man in the street auses to wonder when he runs afoul

of opposinggeneralizations: .g., the veteran s more religious haneverbefore nd the veteran s less religious han ever before. uchbald contradictions ake t clear o all that t s high time o relinquishthe myth f the veteran or the ess pretentious acts f veteran ne,veteran wo, nd veteran hree. n this modest pirit he present tudyis offered. ubjected o test re some of the more mportant eneraliza-tions about the veteran's sychology o ascertain ust how universalare the presumed onsequents f military ife. Such an inquiry has

more than academicvalue. Most of the attitude hangespresumed obe general n the veteran roup are changes for the worse, .g., disil-lusionment, ependency, oredom, nd immorality. issemination fthesenotions as led to pessimistic onceptions f the problem f vet-eran readjustment. f it should be found hat he picture s overdrawn,that deteriorations re limited ather han universal, hat changes reconstructive s well as destructive, t would certainly rovide fillip othe morale of every erson nterested n readjusting eterans o civil-

ian life.The subjects or this nvestigation ere 99 veterans nrolled sstudents t Princeton niversity. nonymity as preserved s far aspossible n administering hequestionnaire oencourage andor. t wasrecognized hat the subjectswould not be completely epresentativeof veterans enerally, ut this fact was deemed not entirely isad-vantageous n the present onnection. tudent veterans eviate fromveterans enerally n the direction f being more alike in their har-

acteristics-education, conomic tatus, ge, etc. t is reasonable o sup-pose,then, hat variations n the effect f the war upon their ttitudeshould be rather more minimum han maximum. Consequently, nyconclusions rawn from the presence f such variability pply evenmore trongly o the veteran opulation s a whole.Further, ny find-ingswhich ouldnot safely egeneralized eyond tudent eterans tillpartake f considerable ignificance. tudent eterans orm large eg-ment of the veteran opulation, nd a crucial egment n establishing

the tenor f veteran bsorption nto civilian ife.FAMILY RAPPORT

One of the most ignificant ossibilities f change n veterans' t-titudes ies n the area of family elationships. t is not unreasonable o







THE VETERAN-A MYTH 363

suppose hat s a consequencef their eriod f military ife oldiers

become onditioneduchwisehat pon heir eturn ome hey mani-fest ess understandingnd rapport ith heir arents.We have al-ready ited Waller's tatement mplying hat uchan effect s uni-versallyhe ase mong eterans. therwriters eneralizen the amevein. ratt,' or xample,makes hegeneric tatement, All returnedsoldiers . . become isillusionedbout heir ome own, bout heirjobs . . but most f all about heir amilies nd friends. o the factssupport he heses?

Table gives he uestion hatwasbrought obear n the matter,andthe esultsbtained rom he ample f veterans.

TABLEi

AS A RESULT OF THE WAR OR YOUR WARTIME EXPERIENCES, DO YOU FEEL

THAT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR PARENT(S) HAS:

%of Di, .% of Combat % Non-CAlternatives Vets between Vets Vets Differ-

N=i 99 a&c N-117 N=82 encea. becomemore

understanding? 4.8 50.5 36.6 13.9*b. remained

unchanged? 32.6 23.2* 28.2 39.0 io.8c. become ess

understanding? 2i.6 21.3 2I.9 .6d. No Opinion I.O 0.0 2.5 2.5

* In this nd the following ables starred ifference assesthe 95 per cent evel of statistical

significance; daggered ifference assesthe go per cent evel.

A glance t the first olumnmakes t evident hat tatementsabout the eteran,uch s Waller's nd Pratt's, re ndefensible.ub-stantial roportions f veterans eport hat amily elationshipsavebecomemore understanding,essunderstanding,nd remained n-changed. ut this s not ll. The surprising inding merges hat otonly re Waller's nd Pratt's hesesndefensiblyeneral ut, o the

extent he resent amplesrepresentative,hey rewrong. he propor-tion fveterans horeport ore nderstandingelationship ith heirparents s a result f the war s over wice s great s the proportionwho report ess. t is further pparent rom he ast column f the

8 GeorgeK. Pratt, oldier o Civilian.McGraw-Hill,944, p. I23.







364 PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY, FALL I946

table hat he combat eterans-the roupwho would be presumedto have uffered hegreater ossof rapport-are, n the contrary, hegroupwho ndicate hegreater ncreasen family nderstandings aconsequencef their military xperiences.

Thesefindings re as important s they re unexpected.f theyhold up at all generally, hey onstitute striking efutation f theprophets f gloom n this ritical reaof veteran eadjustment.

INDEPENDENCE

It hasalready een llustrated ith quotation romWaller hata presumed ffect f military ife f veteranss a lossof ndependenceand self-direction. illerholds4 hat he veteran as the need to betaken are f, ohavedependent eelings ratified. he veteran up-posedly ecomesmoredependent hanwhen he entered he servicebecause,ccordingoWaller,' onedoesnotneed o strive n the rmy,or to planor foresee; neneeds nly o givehimself ver o the greatmachine hich akes are f verything... Do the rinceton eterans

manifest s universal trend owardossof ndependencesWaller'sand Miller's ositions mply?TABLE 2

AS A RESULT OF YOUR PERIOD IN SERVICE, DO YOU FEEL:

%of Dig. % of Combat % Non-CAlternatives Vets between Vets Vets DibFer-

Nrig99 a & c N-1z17 N=82 encea. less independent nd

less able to make de-cisionsfor yourself? 4.5 4.3 4.9 .6

b. equally ndependent? 5.1 75.5* 10.2 21.9 11.7c. more independent

and more able tomake decisions foryourself 8o.o 85.5 72.0 13.5t

d. No Opinion 0.4 0.0 1.2 1.2

Judged rom heprevailing oint f view, heresults s pictured nTable2 canbe considereds nothing hort f nonplussing.t seems

4 Major Milton . Miller, The Personality f the Returned eteran, ygeia, February, 946,p. 98.

5 Willard Waller, Veterans' Attitudes, nn. Am. Academy, ol. 238, March, 945, p. I77.








that, n this nstance, here sa rather idespread ffect hatmight l-

most ustify generalizationbout the veteran, ut ronically hegeneralization ouldhave o be diametricallypposite o those ited.Fullyfour-fifths f the ample eport hat s a result f their eriodin the ervice hey eelmore, ot ess, ndependent nd more ble tomakedecisions or hemselves.6here s, further, n almost onclu-sive ndication hat he veterans ith he more ntense military x-perience-combat eterans-show his ffect o a greater xtent hando the veterans ithout uch xperience.

If these esults re representativef any substantial umber fveterans, omething s exceedinglywry with he analyses f thosewho see ncrease n dependency nd loss of self-directionn veteransgenerallys a result f their rmy egimentation.o for second riti-cal area of adjustment he facts eemto indicate, n opposition oprevailing heory, hat or large proportion f veterans heirwar-induced ersonality hanges iminish ather han ugment hedifficul-ties f readjustmento peacetime ursuits.

RELIGION

Many ndividuals eelpersuaded hat here asbeen great e-vival f religion mong he rmed orces uring he pastwar.On theother hand, s eminent nd informed minister s Dr. Daniel A.Poling, fter tour f numerous attlefronts,ffered s his observa-tions, overwhelmingndifferenceo organized eligion. 7 t is valu-able to see what ight he present ample f veterans an shed uponthis mportant ifferencef opinion. ables and 4 give he questionthat was posed nd the returns.

Table 3 discloses hat or he veteran roup s a whole he major-ity eport o change n the mount f their eligious aith s a resultof their artime xperiences. minority eportsncreasen faith nd,parallelly, minority eports ecrease n faith. With difference fonly .5 per cent, either f these minority rends ignificantlyver-

6 The suggestion ould be made here that fficers ave been differently ffected y their warexperiences han enlisted men with the present nexpected inding erhaps due in part to adisproportionate umber f ex-officers n the Princeton ample. Unfortunately his possibilitycould not be checked s the necessary nformation as not obtained. erhaps t is too obvious opoint ut that f officers o differ ystematicallyrom nlisted men n the effects f the war uponthem, lready the veteran uffers rom bad caseof split personality.

7 Time, January , 1944.







366 PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY, FALL I946

TABLE 3DO YOU FEEL, AS A RESULT OF THE WAR OR YOUR WARTIMEEXPERIENCES, THAT YOUR RELIGIOUS FAITH,IF ANY, HAS:

% of % of Vets % of VetsAlternatives Vets (19-22) (23-29) Age

N=:1gg N=88 N sii Differencea. increased? 25.1 I2.5 35.2 22.7*

b. not changed? 53.3 59.I 48.6 IO.5

c. decreased? i8.6 23.9 I4.3 9.3d. No Opinion 3.0 4.5 I.7 2.8

TABLE 4DO YOU FEEL, AS A RESULT OF THE WAR OR YOUR WARTIME

EXPERIENCES, THAT YOUR RELIGIOUS FAITH, IF ANY, HAS:

Veterans ged 9 to 2 Veterans ged 3 to 29

% Combat % Non-C % Combat % Non-CAlternatives Vets Vets Diu. Vets Vets Diff.

N=47 N-41 N=70 N=4I

a. increased? i 2.8 12.2 .6 41.4 24.4 17.Otb. not changed? 57.3 6i.I 3.8 48.5 48.7 .2

c. decreased? 21.3 26.8 5.5 8.6 24.4 i5.8td. No Opinion 8.5 ?.? 8.5 1.4 2.4 1.0

shadowstsopponent. o as a major inding, o the degree he ampleisrepresentativehere asbeennosignificantet hangen the mountof religious aith f veterans s a consequencef their military x-periences.

Individualsnamored f peaking f the eteran ould robablyrecast he onclusionothis orm: heveteran as ust bout he ameamount f religious aith oday she had before hewar. n so doingtheywouldmiss xactly hemost nteresting oint-that many eter-ans have experiencedn increasen faith nd many decrease. t isworth ur while ogo further nto hedata to seewhat factors reassociated ith hese pposing rends.

Table3 shows hat n this eligiousuestion, or he only imein this urvey, reliable gedifferencevidencestself n the returns.8As compared oyounger eterans19-22 years f age),three imes s

8Thisgeneralbsencef ttitude ifferencesetweenomparableroups f older nd youngerPrinceton en s importantn suggestinghat he ttitude hangesn this tudy re specificallywar-induceds interpreted,nd not imply heresult f normal ocial rowth.








many lder veterans 23-29) haveexperiencedncreasesn faith. Within

the older group, he proportion ho have increased ecomes ignifi-cantly greater han the proportion ho have decreased. Within theyounger roup he opposite rend ccurs, hough t s not argeenoughto be conclusive. o though veterans n general do not demonstrateany net increase n religious aith, lder veterans o. And it is quitepossible hat younger eterans xperienced he opposite ffect-a netdecrease n faith s a consequence f their war experiences.

Such provocative esultswarrant pushing further. What about

combat xperience s a possible mpetus o religion? Certainly n im-plication f the widely voicedthesis, No atheists n foxholes, s thatbattle xperience cts to restore r heighten eligious eeling. oes suchoccur? Since the two age groups have been revealed o be different,it behooves he cautious nalyst o assess he mpact f combat xperi-ence separately or he older nd the younger oldiers. able 4 achievessuch separation t the costof somecomplexity. he results re worththe cost. Scrutiny f the table will disclose that combat experience

seems o have directly ontrary ffects n the two age groups. Amongthe older veterans here s a clear indication hat combat causes n-creases n religious aith to far outshadow decreases.Of these oldercombat eterans 1.4 per cent underwent n increase n religious aith;only8.6 per cent decrease-an almost ivefold ifference hich, eed-less to say, s reliable. Among the older veteranswithout ombat x-perience, ncreases nd decreases n faith match one another.

Among the younger eterans, n the other hand, t appears hat

with or without ombat xperience heeffect f military ife has beento occasionmore decreasesn religious aith han ncreases. he differ-ence is not statistically eliable, ut it is suggestive.

From these results he conclusion may be drawn that foxholeexperience ends o favor ncrease n religious aith-but only amongolder soldiers. his effect allsfar short f the exuberant ontention,No atheists n foxholes, or several easons. irst, 3.5 per cent of

the men with combat xperience pecifically eported o changefrom

previous ackof faith. econd, 13.6per cent of the combat xperiencegroup underwent decrease n faith. Third, and most important,among the younger eterans here s more han a suggestion f a secu-larizing ather han religious nfluence f military xperience, hethercombat r otherwise.







368 PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY, FALL 1946

SEX AND MORALS

It is widely believed hat one of the predominant nfluences fwar both upon the civilian opulation nd upon the soldier s a liberal-ization f sexbehavior nd morals. mplicative f sucha view s Pratt'sstatement,9 in their the soldiers'] xclusively asculine nvironment,they weredeprived f the usual civilian pportunities ordraining ffsex feelings hrough wholesome ecreational ontacts with girls, ndas a result hey have cometo overvalue hisbiologic nstinct. Wallerremarks n this connection,10Soldiers nd civilians like participatein the relaxation f sexual morality n time of war.The writers' ntention n putting question otheir eteran amplefrom this area was not to challenge the thesis hat war experiencetends to liberalize morality. he point is too well supported rompast wars to be denied.The motivation as rather o ascertain f anyappreciable umber f veterans id not report uch an effect. f suchwere the case,however ndeniable he majority rend, ne would bealerted ot to speakof the veteran s having becomemore iberal nmorality. TABLE 5

AS A RESULT OF YOUR WARTIME EXPERIENCES, DOYOU FEEL

THAT YOUR ATTITUDES TOWARD SEX AND MORALS HAVE:

% of Difi. % of Combat % Non-CAlternatives Vets between Vets Vets Differ-

N=igg a & c N-II7 N-82 encea. become more

liberal? 65.9 66.o 66.o 0.0b. not changed? 19.1 51.3* I5.3 24.4 9.I

c. become lessliberal? 14.6 I8.7 8.5 10.2

d. No Opinion 0.4 0.0 1.1 I.

Results re listed n Table 5. It is clear that almost wo-thirds fthe veterans eport hat their ttitudes oward sex and morals havebecome more iberal as a result f their wartime xperiences. ow-ever, t is equally clear that a full third f the group underwent ochange n attitudes r became, n the contrary, ess iberal. o if mostveterans ave becomemore iberal morally, n a careful ense the

9GeorgeK. Pratt, oldier o Civilian.McGraw-Hill, 944, pp. I22-I23.10Willard Waller, The Veteran omes Back. Dryden Press, 944, p. 83.








veteran as not. Viewerswith larm might e inclined o seize upon

thismajority rend s evidenceor war-induced oral eterioration.Suchan inference ouldhaveto be contested. rom many oints fview, iberalization f contemporary ttitudes oward ex and moralsmust e accounted constructiveather han destructive rend.

In leaving able5 noticemight e taken f the hint f a combatinfluence ponmorality. he differencesre not reliable ut there sthe uggestion-worth erifyingf further tudy s undertaken-thatveterans ho haveundergone ombat xperiences how higher ro-

portion han o non-combateterans f ndividuals hohavebecomeless iberal n their moral ttitudes.ALCOHOL

To proceed rom hegeneral o the more pecificn moral tti-tude, he question f drinking as raisedwith he veteran ample.Increasen consumptionf iquorhas ongbeen ssociated ith mili-tary ervice uring wartime. enderhas said in this connection,

Drinking s another scapeof special mportance to the soldier]because f ts mplied ssertion f manhood,ts trengtheningf thewill to defy hearmy ehavior tandards, nd because f the com-munity ife f thebar . . where or few minutes t east he onelysoldier nowswarmth nd comradeship.f, s is ikely, endo drinkmore s soldiers han hey idascivilians, oes hegreater nclinationpersist pon return o civilian ife?

Table6 gives he nswer othe bove uestion.t can beseen hatsome 7 per cent f the veterans ampled eport n increased rone-

TABLE 6AS A RESULT OF THE WAR OR YOUR WARTIME EXPERIENCES, DO YOU FEEL

THAT YOU ARE MORE OR LESS PRONE TO INDULGE IN ALCOHOLIC DRINK?

% of Diff. % of Combat % Non-CAlternatives Vets between Vets Vets Differ-

N-Ig9 a & c N II7 N-82 encea. more 57.2 55.5 59.7 4.2

b. no change 24.6 40.6* 26.5 21.9 4.6c. less i6.6 16.3 22.2 5.9d. No Opinion I.6 1.7 1.2 .5

11Capt. WilsonR. G. Bender, The Man As He Leavesthe Service, Mental Hygiene, Jan-uary, 945.










The results n Table 7 indicate hesurmise o be well founded.

A majority f the veterans ampled dmitted o an increase n bore-dom, estlessness,nd needfor ntertainment ecausef their warex-periences. o combat ifferentials apparent n the returns.

Not all veterans, hen, eel n increased eed o relieve oredom,but majority o-so far s the present ample s representative.hisfact as definite racticalmplications.t points o the necessityor llagencies ccupiedwith veteran eadjustment o exercise onsiderableeffort oward roviding onstructive iversionsnd recreational ut-

lets or oldiers eturning o civilian ife.TOLERANCE

It wouldhavebeen n unfortunate mission oneglect nquiringof the veteran ample s to possible nfluencesf theirwartime xperi-ences pon heir rejudices. hisareawas approached ith questionaboutNegro ttitude. he writers elt here ould be some dvantagein framing hepoint oncretely or hepresent ample, o the ssue

wasraised bout he dmission f Negroes oPrinceton niversity-long a mootpoint mong rinceton tudents. ince hemembers fthe present ample f veterans ad all been t Princeton orvaryingperiods rior o their military xperiencesndwerenowreturned, hecircumstancesere xcellent or hem o assess reciselyny nfluenceof wartime xperience pon their pinions.

Table8 gives heresults othe question s it was posed. t maybe observed hat majority eport o war-induced hange n their

TABLE 8REGARDING THE ADMISSION OF NEGROES TO PRINCETON, WHAT INFLUENCE,

IF ANY, HAS THE WAR OR YOUR WARTIME EXPERIENCES HAD UPON YOUR

OPINION?

% of Dig. % of Combat % Non-CAlternatives Vets between Vets Vets Diger-

NzI99 a&c N_ II7 N_82 encea. tendency oward

approval 26.6 28.2 24.4 3.8b. no change 53.4 15.I* 50.5 57.3 6.8c. tendency oward

disapproval II.5 14.5 7.3 7.2d. No Opinion 8.5 6.8 1 .0 5.2







372 PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY,FALL 1946

attitude. ut the most nteresting indings that, f the veterans ho

did change n attitude, ncreasesn approval f Negro dmissions ver-shadow ecreases. he differences not s large s some hat his tudyhas turned p,but t s reliable. nd f one remembers hat he ues-tion sdealingwith concrete ssuewith ll of ts practical ifficulties,the ncreases row n importance. t is always asier o be tolerant nthe bstract.

It isnot lear howwidely uch result an be generalized. ut fthe finding s symptomaticf any ubstantial rend mong eterans,

the fact an be a real nspirationo all individuals nd agencies nter-ested n preservingnd augmenting heprogress oward quitabilitythat he Negrominority asachieved uring he war.

TO SUM UP

The present tudy f war-induced hanges n attitudes mongveterans as undertaken s a pilot nvestigation ather han con-clusivenquiry. ut ven rom imited ata he act merges hat the

veteran s a myth. he reality s veterans-some imilar n the psycho-logical onsequencesf their military xperiences,utmany ifferent.This far from stonishing act eems o have generally onebeggingin the passion or dramatic ll-encompassingonclusionsbout eter-ans.

Further ndicated y the present tudy s definite vidence hatamong ome veterans-perhapsargenumbers-wartime xperienceshave ccasionedonstructivehangesn personalityn respect ocapac-

ity ormeeting heproblems f postwar eadjustment.

Documents

The Veteran a Myth