https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Woodall2022

Woodall, K. A., Esquivel, A. P., Powell, T. M., Riviere, L. A., Amoroso, P. J., & Stander, V. A. (2023). Influence of family factors on service members' decisions to leave the military. Family Relations, 72(3), 1138-1157. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12757

Service members’ voluntary separation from the military (i.e., leaving the military after their contracts expire) is costly for the military, which then must recruit and train new members. Data from Service members and their spouses (N = 4,539 couples) from two time points (i.e., baseline and 3-year follow-up) were used to examine how aspects of military careers (e.g., combat severity), family life (e.g., marital quality, social support, financial concerns), work-family conflict, and military satisfaction at baseline related to voluntary separation at the 3-year follow-up. Overall, Service members who experienced greater combat severity (i.e., danger of being killed or attacked) were more likely to voluntarily separate from the military. Aspects of family life were indirectly associated with Service members’ voluntary separation via work-family conflict, military satisfaction, or both.

https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12757

Couples
Parents
Deployment

Army
Air Force
Marine Corps
Navy
Multiple branches

Active Duty
Guard
Reserve
Veteran

Active duty service member
Guard/Reserve member
Spouse of service member or veteran
Veteran

Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)

Quantitative Study

Woodall, Kelly A., Esquivel, Alejandro P., Powell, Teresa M., Riviere, Lyndon A., Amoroso, Paul J., Stander, Valerie A.

Background Service member retention is a crucial aspect in maintaining and advancing the U.S. military and its mission. To increase retention, it is important to understand why active duty personnel voluntarily leave while they are still highly qualified. For married service members, spouses likely influence the decision to stay or leave military service. Objective The current study used data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study for 4,539 dyads comprising service members and their spouses to investigate family predictors of voluntary military separation. Methods Multivariate mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate the role of military satisfaction (spouse and service member) and work–family conflict as mediators of the effects of both family life and military stressors on risk for military separation, while accounting for spouse and service member demographics. Results Results identified significant family factors operating through work–family conflict and military satisfaction that were associated with increased likelihood of service member voluntary separation, including number of children, spouse bothered by finances, and service member months away from home. Service members with spouses who reported higher levels of social support were significantly less likely to voluntarily separate, after operating through both work–family conflict and military satisfaction. Conclusion and Implications Findings suggest that work–family conflict and military satisfaction play an important synergistic role in predicting the impact family and career factors have on voluntary separation. These modifiable factors may guide potential interventions to increase military retention efforts.

Wiley Online

Article
REACH Publication

Leidos, Inc., KAW
Leidos, Inc., APE
Military Population Health Directorate, Naval Health Research Center, KAW
Military Population Health Directorate, Naval Health Research Center, APE
Military Population Health Directorate, Naval Health Research Center, VAS
The Informatics Applications Group, TMP
Center for Military Psychiatry andNeuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, LAR
Readiness, Acceleration, and Innovation Network, PJA