Wives' Employment Status and Marital Adjustment in Military Families

Abstract

Drawing upon a stratified random sample of 928 US Air Force couples (1,856 spouses) from 24 bases worldwide, the present study examined the relationship between wives' employment status and the marital adjustment of military member husbands and their civilian wives. The influence of wives' employment on the self-reported marital adjustment of sample husbands and wives varied by the combined influence of base location and the rank of the husband. Interpretations of the findings are offered for consideration, and recommendations are presented for further research.