Should I stay or should I go? An examination of the effects of work and family factors on active-duty and National Guard and Reserve service members’ military career intentions
APA Citation:
Tidwell, A. (2022). Should I stay or should I go? An examination of the effects of work and family factors on active-duty and National Guard and Reserve service members’ military career intentions [Master's Thesis, Auburn University]. https://etd.auburn.edu//handle/10415/8454
Focus:
Mental health
Other
Branch of Service:
Army
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Guard
Reserve
Subject Affiliation:
Military families
Active duty service member
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Methodology:
Secondary Analysis
Authors:
Tidwell, Allison, Mallory Lucier-Greer
Abstract:
The Department of Defense (DoD) prioritizes the retention of military personnel to maintain a ready defense force and earn return on their investment of training highly skilled Service members. Prior research has examined how specific work-related factors, family related factors, and personal well-being impact Service members’ career intentions; however, the cumulative effects of the associations between these factors on military career intentions remains unclear. The current study examined the contributions of work-related factors (i.e., organizational support, morale), family-related factors (i.e., work-family balance, romantic relationship quality), and personal well-being (i.e., depressive symptoms) on career intentions among a sample of 3,506 Soldiers who participated in the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS). Path analysis was conducted to model the direct and indirect effects of work-related factors, family-related factors, and personal well-being on Soldiers’ intentions to remain in military service beyond their current service obligation and intentions to leave military service before the end of their service obligation if they were given the choice to do so. Additionally, a multigroup moderated path model was analyzed to assess whether the same factors emerge as important in predicting retention for active-duty Service members and National Guard and Reserve Service members. A path model assessing the direct and indirect contributions of work-family balance and unit support on Soldiers’ intentions to remain and intentions to leave through morale, relationship quality, and depressive symptoms demonstrated acceptable model fit (
Publisher/Sponsoring Organization:
Auburn University
Publication Type:
Dissertations & Theses
Keywords:
military career intentions, family-related factors, personal well-being, work-related factors