Risk-taking attitudes in the Norwegian population: Implications for the recruitment to the Armed Forces

The presence of risks is a crucial and unavoidable feature of many military contexts and should be recognized by the military in recruitment and skill acquisition. Moreover, the military system is part of the society at large and thus influenced by the general values and norms that exists. This is particularly the case in Norway, one of the few countries left with compulsory military service and the only NATO country with female conscription. The article examines risk-taking attitudes in eight dimensions (ethical, existential, financial, intellectual, performance-related, physical, political, and social) in a representative sample (n=1,000) of the Norwegian population. While significant main effects were found for both gender and age, no differences were revealed among the youngest women and men (age 15-24). The results are discussed in relation to potential implications for recruitment into the Armed Forces.