Effects of Work-Related Absences on Families: Evidence from the Gulf War

The Gulf War provides an opportunity to estimate the effect of work-related separations on military families. Using data from the 1992 Survey of Officers and Enlisted Personnel, the authors estimate the effect of Gulf War deployment on divorce rates, spousal employment, and children's disability rates. Deployment of male soldiers had no effect on marital dissolution, though it did lead soldiers' wives to work less. In contrast, deployment of female soldiers led to a large and statistically significant increase in divorce rates, suggesting deployment of women placed a marked strain on marriages. Deployment of female soldiers did not affect husbands' labor supply. Finally, the results show no statistically significant increase in disability rates among the children of deployed personnel.