Influence of Work and Life Stressors on Marital Quality among Dual and Nondual Military Couples

Abstract

Maintaining a healthy marriage may be challenging for military couples as they attempt to balance the demands of work and family; for dual-military couples, this can be even more challenging. Using data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study, we examined whether military stress experiences negatively impact marital quality through the mediation of work–family conflict. Spouse gender and dual-military status were included as moderators. Spouses reported on marital quality, work–family conflict, military stress experiences, and personal military experience. Spouse and service member demographics were also included. Results demonstrated that experiencing more military stress experiences was related to lower marital quality, which was mediated by work–family conflict. Additionally, female dual spouses reported lower marital quality than male dual spouses and civilian spouses. Findings from this study highlight the importance of providing support to military spouses for stressful military events and potentially tailoring support services for female dual spouses to improve marital quality.

Family Cohesion and Relationship Quality in Defence Force Families: Rapid Review

“…Couple relationship quality and satisfaction is also impacted by military service, with evidence of increased marital distress and instability, poorer couple communication, conflict; and intimate partner violence (IPV) (Pflieger et al, 2018;Riviere et al, 2012;Woodall et al, 2020). A large-scale longitudinal study…”

Influence of family factors on service members' decisions to leave the military

“…The number of children was determined using spouse report to the question, “How many children do you have from your current relationship or prior relationship(s)?” This predictor was measured on the Family Study on a continuous scale (0 = no children to 10 = 10 or more children ; Corry et al, 2019; Street et al, 2022; Woodall et al, 2020).…”

“…Spouses who reported never serving in the military were categorized as civilian. Civilian spouses were the referent category (Corry et al, 2019; Richardson et al, 2020; Street et al, 2022; Woodall et al, 2020).…”

Risk and protective factors predictive of marital instability in U.S. military couples.

“…In addition, although research points to female service members being at much greater risk for divorce than their male counterparts (Karney & Crown, 2007), there is not a good understanding as to why females are at greater risk. Further, although female service members in dual-military marriages and veteran spouses report lower marital quality, no known studies have specifically studied marital separation or divorce as an outcome in these subgroups (Woodall et al, 2020). The overarching aim of the present study was to examine risk and protective factors that predict marital instability (i.e., separation and divorce) in a large, representative cohort of military couples participating in two waves of the Millennium Cohort Family Study and to examine whether family and military factors differentially increase risk for marital instability in female service members and dual-military/veteran spouse couples.…”

“…Moreover, there is limited evidence that spouses’ history of military service may be related to marital instability. Research using cross-sectional data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study found that marital satisfaction was lower among female service members in dual-military couples as well as veteran spouses (Woodall et al, 2020). Despite indications that female service members and dual-military/veteran spouse couples may be at higher risk for marital instability, further evidence is needed to understand the unique factors that heighten risk in these subgroups.…”