RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Life satisfaction is one of the global indicators of adjustment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles of individual and familial characteristics, and attitudes towards military service of new recruits in terms of their satisfaction with the fundamental principles of military service and daily military lifestyle and environment. METHODS: The study was conducted among 214 soldiers recruited one month previously in an orientation camp for privates located in an Istanbul military center. All subjects were administered a questionnaire concerning individual and familial sociodemographic features and their feelings about the fundamental principles of military service and daily military lifestyle and environment. RESULTS: Variables included in the questionnaire such as "prior concern about military service", "unexpected timing of military service", "disappointment with military service", "older age at onset of military service" and "higher education level of the subject himself or his mother", were found to be negatively correlated with the satisfaction levels of soldiers. All these items, excluding the education level of the mother, were determined to predict a low level of satisfaction in recruits. CONCLUSIONS: Satisfaction with the fundamental principles of military service and daily military life and environment of recruits, which is a good indicator of adjustment, is concluded to have been affected by the attitudes of individuals towards military service and expectations from this position, the educational level of soldiers and the age of the soldier at the start of military service.
