Publication year
2017
Citation Title
An exploratory study of marital and quality of life ratings among male spouses of military members.
Journal Name
Contemporary Family Therapy
Journal Volume
39
Page Numbers
162-171
DOI
10.1007/s10591-017-9413-2
Summary
Few studies explore the experiences of male military spouses, which can impact family readiness within the military. Survey data were used to examine the demographic information of male spouses of Active Duty Service members on a variety of satisfaction measures (e.g., life, marital, health). Results indicated that male spouses in this sample had high levels of education and income and scored high on the satisfaction measures.
Key Findings
Seventy-four percent of male spouses rated their physical health as near excellent or excellent.
The average life satisfaction score was 27 out of 35, suggesting high life satisfaction among male spouses; almost half of the male spouses agreed that their life was close to ideal.
The average depression score for spouses was 13 out of 36, indicating low levels of depression among male spouses.
Twenty-four percent of male spouses scored a 60 or 61 on a 75 point scale for marital satisfaction, suggesting a medium to high level of marital satisfaction among spouses.
Implications for Program Leaders
Continue to offer services that support employment opportunities for both male and female military spouses
Provided resources and services to meet the unique needs of male military spouses
Continue to provide marital education to military couples to enhance marital satisfaction
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support legislation aimed at making licensure portability easier for military spouses who relocate
Continue to support programs aimed at enhancing marital well-being among Service members and their spouses
Continue to provide support for programs and services that increase family readiness
Methods
Participants were recruited via an advertisement on a popular male military spouse blog and posted advertisements on Blue Star Families Facebook and Twitter pages.
Snowball and convenience sampling were used to further distribute the link to these advertisements and data were collected from July-August 2016.
Only participants who were over the age of 18 years, who were married to an Active Duty Service member, and completed the majority of survey questions were included in the sample (n = 34).
Participants
The majority of spouses (85%) were heterosexual, while 15% of respondents were in same-sex marriages, and the average length of marriage was 10.9 years.
Seventy percent of spouses were White and ranged in age from 26 to 57 years (M = 39).
Fifty-six percent of spouses had no military history of their own, 32% were retired or separated from the military, 9% were current Active Duty Service members, and only one spouse reported being a Reservist.
Forty-four percent of spouses completed college; half of the spouses were working full-time, 32% were unemployed, and 18% were unemployed or "other."
Limitations
The majority of spouses in the sample were married to officers; therefore, results may not be generalizable to male spouses married to enlisted military personnel.
Results may be biased as spouses indicated high levels of education and income, which could influence life satisfaction, health, depression, and marital satisfaction scores (and these factors were not accounted for in the analyses).
The small sample size (n = 34) and reduced responses on some of the measures limit the generalizability of results to the larger population of male military spouses.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine marital and life satisfaction scores among male spouses of enlisted military personnel
Compare the experience of male military spouses with those of female military spouses to assess similarities and differences to better tailor programs aimed at supporting military spouses
Explore how other factors (e.g., length of marriage) influence life and marital satisfaction, depression, and health outcomes
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to present the current demographics and both marital and quality of life ratings of a small group of males who are married to current Active Duty service members. Males married to service members make up only 5% of the military spouse population, but numbering close to 100,000, the group is large enough to have specific and significant needs. Gender assumptions play a large role in the experience of male military spouses and should be considered when designing military family programs. Many research studies done on active duty spouses are either done on females specifically, or male responses are too few to be statistically significant. Respondents had been married for an average of 10 years, had been dating their spouses for an average of 2 years prior to marriage, and more than half of the respondents had no prior military history of their own. Results of this study showed that respondents generally had medium to high levels of both marital satisfaction and interpersonal dependency, high levels of life satisfaction, and low levels depressive symptoms including feeling down, depressed or hopeless. This data is likely not representative of the larger male spouse population, as respondents had high levels of education and income, which could lead to fewer stressors. Although this data did not indicate a high level of distress among male military spouses, military family organizations should offer programs specifically aimed at including male spouses in order to increase family cohesion and reduce marital conflict which could result in improved mission readiness.
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