What Are the Contributions of Social Demographics and Perceptions of Military Life in a Changing Army to the Health and Retention Preferences of Army Spouses: Active Duty, Reserve and National Guard

Over the last three decades the institution to the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) and Total Force Policy, as well as the end of the Cold War have had a significant impact on the Army. We explore the social demographics in the AVF, the integration of the National Guard and Reserve into the military way of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Durand, Doris B, Burrell, Lolita M, Fortado, Jennifer
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ACTIVE DUTY
ALL VOLUNTEER
ARMY PERSONNEL
ARMY SPOUSES
CAREERS
DEMOGRAPHY
FAMILY MEMBERS
HEALTH
JOBS
MENTAL HEALTH
NATIONAL GUARD
PERCEPTION(PSYCHOLOGY)
Personnel Management and Labor Relations
PHYSICAL FITNESS
POLICIES
Psychology
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Summary:Over the last three decades the institution to the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) and Total Force Policy, as well as the end of the Cold War have had a significant impact on the Army. We explore the social demographics in the AVF, the integration of the National Guard and Reserve into the military way of life, and the effects of military duties in relationship to the physical and psychological health and retention preferences of today's Army spouses. Survey data were collected from a sample of 709 spouses: 137 Active Duty, 398 National Guard, and 174 Reserve. Overall, we found that spouses possessed good physical and psychological health and wanted their soldiers to remain in the Army. Among the social demographic issues, finances were problematic. Approximately one-third of spouses reported that finances caused problems in their families and 15% reported debts of over $30,000. Debt level was not significantly correlated with retention preference; however, it was associated with higher depression scores. The data from our integration indicators suggested that the USAR and ARNG spouses were not integrated into the military way of life to any great degree. Although not significantly correlated to health measures, increased integration was associated with spouses wanted their soldiers to remain in the military.