POLITICAL-ATTITUDES AND THE VIETNAM-WAR - A STUDY OF COLLEGE-EDUCATEDMEN OF THE VIETNAM GENERATION

Groups of Vietnam veterans (n = 52), Vietnam era veterans (n = 77), an d nonveterans (n = 249), all of whom had graduated from an Ivy League university in 1966, were compared in terms of their retrospectively re ported general political orientation in 1966 and their current orienta tion and specific political attitudes in 1990-1991. The Vietnam vetera ns rated themselves as being more conservative than the nonveterans on political orientation and on specific political issues in 1990-1991. The Vietnam-era veterans tended to take an intermediate position polit ically between the other two groups. Controlling for retrospective pol itical orientation in 1966, intensity of military experience predicted more ideological conservatism and more support for the war against Ir aq, as well as a more conservative position on a number of specific po litical issues of current interest. Results are consistent with the id ea that critical experiences in young adulthood, namely military servi ce in Vietnam, may affect political attitudes over many years.