Gone to War: Have Deployments Increased Divorces?

Authors
Negrusa, S. Negrusa, B. Hosek, J.
Publication year
2014
Citation Title
Gone to war: Have deployments increased divorces?
Journal Name
Journal of Population Economics
Journal Volume
27
Page Numbers
473–496
DOI
10.1007/s00148-013-0485-5
Summary
Due to the high rate of deployment in recent years, it is important to study the relationship between deployment and Service members' divorce rates. This study analyzed the deployment and marital data of 462,444 Service members between 1999 and 2008 to examine the causal relationship between deployment and divorce. Results indicated a negative effect of deployment on marriage and suggested that couples married before 9/11, female Service members, and dual-military families were more subjected to the negative impact of deployment than others.
Key Findings
The risk of divorce increased with the increase of cumulative deployment time; this was true for both hostile (indicated by the receipt of “hostile fire/imminent danger pay”) and non-hostile deployment, with the former having a stronger impact on divorce than the latter.
Couples married before 9/11 were more likely to divorce than couples married after 9/11, which may be because they expected a lower risk of deployment when they were married.
Compared to male Service members and military families with only one person in the military, deployment had a larger impact on divorce for female Service members and dual-military families.
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide marriage education classes for Service members and their spouses to promote marital well-being
Develop marriage education workshops especially for female Service members and dual-military families who are at a high risk for marital problems due to deployment
Host fun family activities before and after deployments so that Service members, their spouses, and children can bond with each other
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support new recruitment orientations so that all new Service members and their spouses have a realistic expectation of the risk of deployment upon entering the military
Encourage the development and continuation of marriage education workshops especially for dual-military families and families with female Service members
Recommend education of professionals on common stressors that military couples encounter during deployment and how to help military couples cope with this stress
Methods
Data were obtained from the Defense Manpower Data Center's Proxy Perstempo and the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. Any enlisted Service members who started their military services and entered into marriage between March 1999 and June 2008 were included in the study.
Service members' deployment, marital, and demographic information were collected in the study.
Data were analyzed to examine the relationship between deployment and divorce rates.
Participants
Participants were 462,444 enlisted Service members; the average age of participants at first marriage was 22.05 years, and 20% of the sample were female.
The majority of participants were White (61%), followed by Black (17%) and Latino (10%); the race/ethnicity of the other 12% of participants was not specified.
The military branches participants served in were Army (29%), Navy (28%), Air Force (27%), and Marines (16%).
Limitations
Only enlisted Service members were included in the study; therefore, caution must be taken to generalize the results to officers.
Length of marriage was not taken into consideration; therefore, the finding that couples who married before 9/11 were more likely to divorce than couples who married after 9/11 could be possibly due to the fact that those couples were married longer.
The study did not distinguish between Service members who were married once and those who were married multiple times, which may limit an accurate description of the relationship between deployment and divorce.
Avenues for Future Research
Explore factors other than deployment that may contribute to divorce in the military
Recruit both officers and enlisted Service members so that the results can be better generalized
Examine ways that help military families to cope with marital stress associated with deployment
Design Rating
2 Stars - There are some flaws in the study design or research sample, but those flaws do not significantly threaten the ability to make conclusions based on the data.
Methods Rating
2 Stars - There are no significant biases or deficits in the way the variables in the study are defined or measures and conclusions are appropriately drawn from the analyses performed.
Limitations Rating
3 Stars - There are only minor factors that limit the ability to extend the results to an entire population.
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Couples
Population Focus
Military
Military Branch
Army
Marines
Navy
Air Force
Military Component
Active Component
Abstract
Owing to the armed conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, members of the US military have experienced very high rates of deployment overseas. Because military personnel have little to no control over their deployments, the military setting offers a unique opportunity to study the causal effect of major disruptions on marital dissolution. In this paper, we use longitudinal individual-level administrative data from 1999 to 2008 and find that an additional month in deployment increases the divorce hazard of military families, with females being more affected. A standard conceptual framework of marital formation and dissolution predicts a differential effect of these types of shocks depending on the degree to which they are anticipated when a couple gets married. Consistent with this prediction, we find a larger effect for couples married before 9/11, who clearly expected a lower risk of deployment than what they faced post 9/11.
Abstract Document
Gone to War: Have Deployments Increased Divorces?
PRTW Document
Gone to War: Have Deployments Increased Divorces?
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