Publication year
2012
Citation Title
Comparing marital status and divorce status in civilian and military populations.
Journal Name
Journal of Family Issues
Journal Volume
33
Issue Number
12
Page Numbers
1572-1594
DOI
10.1177/0192513x12439690
Summary
Military couples may experience significant marital stressors that civilian couples do not face (e.g., deployment, mental health concerns). Rates of marriage and divorce among Active Duty, male U.S. Service members and a matched civilian sample were compared from 1998-2005. Across ranks, age ranges, and racial/ethnic groups, Active Duty male Service members are generally more likely to be married and no more likely, or often even less likely, to be divorced compared to matched civilians.
Key Findings
Overall, male, Active Duty Service members were more likely to be married than their civilian counterparts both before and after OEF/OIF.
Across almost all groups (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, offier or enlisted), Service members were equally likely or less likely to be divorced than their civilian counterparts before and after OEF/OIF, with a small number of exceptions.
The difference between the numbers of military and civilian divorces was largest among older men; older Service members were much less likely to be divorced than their civilian counterparts.
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer classes to Service members and spouses on ways to improve and strengthen the marital relationship
Provide pre-marital workshops to teach skills for effective communication and conflict management to Service members and their significant others who are considering getting married
Disseminate information regarding risk and protective factors of divorce, particularly malleable factors, to military couples
Implications for Policy Makers
Promote collaboration between military family programs and community marital therapy programs to offer affordable, accesible counseling to military couples
Encourage further research on marriage and divorce among military couples, including surveys with military couples about perceptions of which military policies help or hinder their marriage
Recommend education for military professionals about risk and protective factors of divorce specific to military couples
Methods
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) records of 18-41 year old male, Active Duty Service members were used to calculate annual proportions of married and divorced individuals from 1998-2005.
The March Current Population Surveys were used to calculate annual proportions of married and divorced civilians, who were matched with Service members on age, gender, race/ethnicity, empolyment status, and educational attainment, from 1998-2005.
The number of individuals who were married and divorced were compared between the military and civilian samples each year.
Participants
No precise participant characteristics were reported.
The military sample included roughly 1.3 million observations per year.
The civilian sample included about 12,000 observations per year.
Limitations
Results were restricted by the databases used, and some important variables were not measured (e.g., marital attitudes and preferences, religiosity, traditional values).
No information regarding marriage quality was available, and it is possible that military and civilian couples have differences in marriage quality not related to marriage or divorce rates.
Only Active Duty male Service members were included, and findings may not generalize to female, National Guard, or Reserve Service members.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine whether the extended OEF/OIF conflicts have resulted in changes in marriage and divorce rates among military couples since 2005
Conduct a similar study that includes measures of marriage satisfaction and marital quality to also compare military and civilian samples on these variables
Assess the effectiveness of current marital and family-based military programs on decreasing the rates of divorce among military couples
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Since military operations began in Afghanistan and Iraq, lengthy deployments have led to concerns about the vulnerability of military marriages. Yet evaluating military marriages requires some benchmark against which marital outcomes in the military may be compared. These analyses drew from personnel records from the entire male population of the active components of the U.S. military between 1998 and 2005, and from the Current Population Surveys from the same years, to compare the likelihood of being married or divorced between service members and civilians matched on age, racial/ethnic composition, employment status, and education. Results indicate that service members are significantly more likely to be married, but are not more likely to be divorced, than civilians with matched characteristics. These patterns have not changed substantially since the current conflicts began.
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