Study addresses reasons for military divorces

A recently unveiled study of American military veterans says men who have served are more likely to have been in extramarital affairs and gone through divorce than men who did not serve.

The research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association and is based on data from a 1992 national survey. The research focused on 2,308 respondents from 18 to 60 years old who had ever been married and had ever served in the military.

While researchers acknowledge the data used is 20 years old, they say it reveals trends among veterans that could be useful today to help those who’ve served and those who are married to them.

According to the study, one third of veterans who had ever been married reported that they’d engaged in extramarital sex. That rate is about twice as high as the 16.8 percent among non-veterans.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study also shows that veterans are more likely to be divorced than their counterparts who never served. Just over 38 percent of veterans were divorced, while 28.9 percent of non-veterans parted ways with their spouses.

“The results of this study provide robust evidence that veteran status was strongly associated with an increased likelihood of extramarital sex and divorce –at least among men,” one researcher said.

The study looked at both men and women, researchers said, but the number of female veteran respondents was so low that the results can’t be considered valid for them as a separate group.

As anyone who has ever served knows, the military imposes unique challenges on married couples, often involving long separations, frequent relocations and the pressures of serving in combat areas.

Something veterans have in common with the general population is that they benefit from the legal guidance of an experienced family law attorney in difficult matters of divorce, child custody and child support.

Source: physorg.com: “Study: Extramarital sex and divorce more common among veterans”: Aug. 22. 2011