Veterans, the Vietnam Era, and Marital Dissolution

Event history analysis of 2,241 married males from James Coleman's Adolescent Society study adds to the evidence that military service, even in the Vietnam era, has not been a significant factor in the breakup of veterans' marriages. Rather, veterans' risk of divorce in the fifteen years ending in 1973 hinged on some of the same factors that affect divorce probabilities anywhere and at any time, such as education, religion, number of children, and an early birth. Call and Teachman's finding that service increases family stability is seen as applicable to high-divorce states, while the present finding that it makes "no difference" applies in states with average divorce rates.