Military marriages prove resistant to divorce

A new study from America has found that marriages involving military personnel are no more vulnerable to divorce than civilian marriages, despite the long working hours and frequent prolonged separations.

Researchers sought out to compare the marital and divorce status of military personnel and civilians in the years immediately before and after the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Family Issues, found that members of the military are significantly more likely to be married, but are not more likely to be divorced than civilians with matched characteristics.

It also revealed that, despite the fact that more service members began to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan between the years of 2002 and 2005, the divorce rates for military remained constant, and did not exceed the divorce rates of civilian couples.

The researchers discussed the reasons for their findings, citing the extensive benefits provided to married military members such as housing supplements, cost of living bonuses, the ability to live off-base with their families, and full spousal health care coverage.