The Demographics of Military Families

my MY MILITARY BASE MYMILITARYBASE.COM THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF MILITARY FAMILIES "BETTER THAN HONOUR AND GLORY, AND HISTORY'S IRON PEN, WAS THE THOUGHT OF DUTY DONE AND THE LOVE OF HIS FELLOW-MEN." -RICHARD WATSON GILDER DID YOU KNOW? 1,429,995 850,880 AS OF JANUARY 31, 2013 SOLDIERS WERE SOLDIERS WERE MAY IS MILITARY APPRECIATION MONTH. ON ACTIVE DUTY IN THE ARMED FORCES. IN THE SEVEN RESERVE COMPONENTS. To commemorate these brave soldiers, let's take a look at some facts about family life within the armed forces. Military Families 56.6% OF THE ACTIVE DUTY FORCE AND 57.7% OF THE SPOUSE AND FAMILY SATISFACTION WITH MILITARY SELECTED RESERVE HAVE FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES, DEFINED AS HAVING “A SPOUSE, ONE OR MORE CHILDREN AND/OR ONE OR MORE ADULT DEPENDENTS." -US Army Community and Family Support Center LIFE ARE MAJOR FACTORS IN A SOLDIER'S DECISION TO STAY OR SEPARATE FROM THE MILITARY. COMPARED TO THEIR CIVILIAN COUNTERPARTS, SERVICE THERE ARE 1.4 FAMILY MEMBERS FOR EVERY SERVICE MEMBERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO MEMBER. • BE MARRIED AT YOUNGER AGES. • HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN AT HOME. THERE ARE MORE MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS THAN SERVICE MEMBERS. RATIO OF 1:1.4 % OF MILITARY RELOCATIONS IN TERMS OF RELOCATION, MILITARY FAMILIES |2% MOVE WITHIN SAME STATE • MOVE ON AN AVERAGE OF 2-3 YEARS. • MOVE 2.4X MORE THAN CIVILIAN FAMILIES. • MOVE FURTHER DISTANCES THAN CIVILIAN FAMILIES. 5% MOVED ABROAD | 5% DIFFERENT STATE FREQUENT RELOCATION POSES THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES FOR CIVILIAN SPOUSES 14% MOVE WITHIN SAME COUNTY HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT LOWER WAGES 74% 2.3 POINTS HIGHER THAN IN 5% LOWER THAN IN OTHER LABOR MARKET AREAS. NON-MOVE OTHER LABOR MARKET AREAS. Military Spouses "82% OF ALL SPOUSES ARE SATISFIED WITH THEIR MARRIAGE AT THE PRESENT THOUGH THE VAST MAJORITY OF MILITARY SPOUSES ARE WOMEN, THERE IS A GROWING NUMBER OF MILITARY HUSBANDS WHO FACE UNIQUE CHALLENGES: TIME, WHEREAS 10% OF SPOUSES ARE NEUTRAL AND 8% ARE DISSATISFIED." GENDER NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS -US Army Community and Family Support Center • EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES SOCIAL ISOLATION. 54.6% OF ACTIVE DUTY AND 51.4% OF THE SELECTED RESERVE ARE MARRIED. 52% OF SPOUSES ADMIT THE POSSIBILITY OF RE-DEPLOYMENT POSES UNCERTAINTY IN MARRIAGE. FOR EACH ADDITIONAL YEAR OF TOUR LENGTH, SPOUSE DISSATISFACTION DECREASED BY 4.2%. 41% OF SPOUSES WORRY CONSTANTLY ABOUT SPOUSE SAFETY IN COMBAT. FOR EACH ADDITIONAL YEAR AT CURRENT LOCATION, SPOUSE DISSATISFACTION DECREASED BY 5.6%. 95% OF MILITARY SPOUSES REPORT CONFIDENCE IN MANAGING SEPARATIONS OF LESS THAN A MONTH. 51% OF SPOUSES RECENTLY EXPERIENCED DEPLOYMENT ONLY 30% REPORTED CONFIDENCE IN THEIR ABILITY TO SEPARATION FOR 12+ MONTHS. COPE WITH SEPARATIONS OF OVER A YEAR. 52% OF SPOUSES FEEL THAT THEY ARE COPING/HAVE COPED WELL WITH SPOUSE ABSENCE DURING DEPLOYMENTS. SUBSEQUENT TO SPOUSE DEPLOYMENT(S), CIVILIAN SPOUSES GENERALLY MANAGE THE FOLLOWING TASKS WITH EASE: IN CASES OF POST-DEPLOYMENT 54% OF SPOUSES RATED THEIR REUNION ADJUSTMENT AS EASY; 22% OF SPOUSES FIND THE ADJUSTMENT DIFFICULT. The most difficult adjustments of deployment are: 55% REGULAR VOLUNTEER WORK | 32% 57% COMMUNICATING WITH ONE ANOTHER TAKING CARE OF HEALTH 66% DAILY HOUSEHOLD TASKS | 36% RESTORING CO-PARENTING [70% [43% WORK/EMPLOYMENT CHANGES OF PERSONALITY/MOODS IN CASES OF MILITARY DEMANDS 11%-15% OF ALL SPOUSES REPORT THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED 70% OF SPOUSES REPORT THEIR FAMILY HAS ADJUSTED WELL THE FOLLOWING PROBLEMS TO A GREAT EXTENT: TO MILITARY DEMANDS, VERSUS 7% wWHO REPORT THEIR FAMILY O EMOTIONAL/NERVOUS PROBLEMS (15%) HAS POORLY ADJUSTED. O MARITAL PROBLEMS (11%) O FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES (11%) Distribution of Sex of Military Spouses by Service Branch 10.0% 97.9% 7.3% 6.9% 6.3% 93.7% 93.1% 92.7% 90.0% 2.1% Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force Totla DoD Navy Marine Air Force Totla DoD Army Corps Military Brats "A "MILITARY BRAT' IS A TERM OF ENDEARMENT AND RESPECT TO DESCRIBE CHILDREN OF A PARENT COR PARENTS) WHO SERVE FULL-TIME IN THE ARMED FORCES." IN CASES OF PARENTAL DEPLOYMENT, MILITARY BRATS MOST OFTEN EXPERIENCE: -Wikipedia 82% distress over media coverage of the war AGE DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN IN MILITARY FAMILIES: 83% distress over rumors about the war 0-5 yrs. 83% symptoms of depression 6-11 yrs. academic difficulties 86% 12-18 yrs. 90% behavior trouble at school 19-22 yrs. 79% OF MILITARY FAMILIES HAVE DEPENDENT CHILDREN LIVING WITH THEM 42% 31% 23% 4% 5.4% OF ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS AND 8.2% OF THE 73% OF MILITARY BRATS ARE UNDER 12 YEARS OLD. SELECTED RESERVE ARE SINGLE PARENTS. 49% OF SPOUSES REPORT THEIR OLDEST CHILD IS/ HAS COPED WELL WITH PARENTAL DEPLOYMENT. 20% OF SPOUSES REPORT THEIR OLDEST CHILD IS/HAS COPED POORLY WITH PARENTAL DEPLOYMENT. FOR MILITARY FAMILIES SEEKING INFORMATIVE ARTICLES, MILITARY BASE DIRECTORIES AND OVERALL COMMUNITY SUPPORT, VISIT HTTP://MYMILITARYBASE.COM/ TODAY! (my MY MILITARY BASE MYMILITARYBASE.COM sources: http://www.prb.org/pdf11/segal-military-families-presentation.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States Armed Forces http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_brat_%28U.S._subculture%29 http://workfamily.sas.upenn.edu/sites/workfamily.sas.upenn.edu/files/imported/pdfs/militaryfamilies.pdf http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/01/23/military-divorce-rate-down-slightly-in-2012.html