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Why Is the Divorce Rate so High Among the Military?

Long and dangerous wars have made military deployments particularly dangerous in the last decade — and that in and of itself has made the divorce rate among military couples increase markedly. A recent study that examined a variety of factors among military couples, including race, social background, age, and more, found that all military couples are more likely to divorce than the average nonmilitary couple — but certain factors make it even less likely that a couple will make it.

  • Couples that marry young
  • Couples in which the woman serves and the man does not
  • Couples in the Reserves and the Navy who have children
  • Couples that are black, particularly black couples in the Army Reserve
  • Couples in which one or both spouses are active duty Air Force officers
  • Couples in which one or both spouses are Air Force enlisted personnel

These are the U.S. Military’s married couples that are the most likely to get divorced. But as it turns out, not all military service is bad for your marriage. The study also showed that, perhaps surprisingly, the longer a deployment, the more powerfully it strengthens a marriage — essentially, if you can get over the initial loss of having your spouse leave for a war zone, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Similarly, couples that marry young and have children are less likely to get divorced if the female spouse gets deployed.

The military provides a lot of services and support for their soldier’s spouses and children. Day care, health care, and housing are obvious — less so are the counseling, community, and support groups available to military spouses. Taking full advantages of everything the military offers can go a long way toward turning your spouse’s deployment from a crisis into a challenge to be overcome.

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