Military spouses, most of whom are women, often contend with a number of factors that can influence their employment status. Previous studies have examined the role of service-member and spousal demographic characteristics on wives’ employment. However, little is known about the role spousal mental health has on employment while controlling for demographic characteristics. Using repeated-measures logistic regressions, this longitudinal study explored associations between spousal mental health and employment while controlling for service-member and spousal characteristics in a sample of 1,164 women. Fewer depressive symptoms were significantly associated with employment ( p < .05). Spouses of enlisted personnel, women who were older, racial/ethnic minorities, homeowners, or had city stability, had higher odds of employment ( p < .05). Military spouses of active duty service members and those less educated had lower odds of employment ( p < .05). Depressive symptoms and demographic characteristics should guide employment opportunity programs for military spouses.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.