The experiences of active duty military spouses with advanced degrees in maintaining and advancing their careers

BACKGROUND: Individuals married to active duty military members experience a significantly higher rate of un/underemployment than their civilian counterparts; those with advanced degrees are most impacted. Occupation is central to individual identity and adaptation; therefore, individual occupational struggles can impact family systems. Evidence shows military spouse career concerns impact service member retention, making spouse employment related to national security; however there is limited research on active duty spouses, particularly those with advanced degrees. OBJECTIVE: This phenomenological study explored the experiences of activity duty military spouses with advanced degrees focusing on maintaining and advancing their careers. METHODS: Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used to explore experiences of military spouses with advanced degrees actively seeking to work in their profession. Inductive content analysis was used to derive overarching themes to respond to the research questions. RESULTS: Four major themes emerged: uniqueness of military life impacts; professional adaptation: flexibility, creativity and reinvention of the professional self; enhanced sense of duty/professional integrity; and need for enhanced forms of career support. CONCLUSIONS: Military spouses with advanced degrees value and have a right to occupation, including work. Military life presents unique barriers to this. Results have implications for healthcare providers and policy-makers.

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Correlates of e-cigarette use among active duty US military personnel: implications for cessation policy

BMJ Military Health ◽

10.1136/bmjmilitary-2020-001700 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. e001700

Author(s):

Sarah Godby ◽

R Dierst-Davies ◽

D Kogut ◽

L Degiorgi Winslow ◽

M M Truslow ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Military Personnel ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Health Agency ◽

Active Duty ◽

Tobacco Prevention ◽

Cigarette Use ◽

Us Military ◽

Active Duty Military ◽

Health Related

BackgroundElectronic cigarette (or e-cigarette) use has grown substantially since its US market introduction in 2007. Although marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, studies have shown they can also be a gateway to their use. The purpose of this investigation is to identify factors associated with different patterns of tobacco use among active duty military personnel.MethodsA secondary analysis was conducted using the 2014 Defense Health Agency Health Related Behaviors survey data. Results are based on 45 986 US military respondents, weighted to 1 251 606. Both univariate and regression analyses were conducted to identify correlates.ResultsIn 2014, approximately 7.8% of respondents reported using e-cigarettes at least once in the past year. Among e-cigarette users, 49% reported exclusive e-cigarette use. Prevalence of exclusive use is highest among white people (58%), Navy (33%), men (83%) and persons with income ≤$45 000 (65%). Regression comparing exclusive cigarette with exclusive e-cigarette users revealed higher odds of being Air Force (OR=2.19; CI 1.18 to 4.06) or Navy (OR=2.25; CI 1.14 to 4.41) personnel and being male (OR=1.72; CI 1.12 to 2.64), and more likely to not receive smoking cessation messaging from healthcare providers in the last 12 months (OR=2.88; CI 1.80 to 4.62). When comparing exclusive e-cigarette users with poly-tobacco users, e-cigarette users had higher odds of being Hispanic (OR=2.20; CI 1.02 to 4.78), college educated (OR=4.25; CI 1.22 to 14.84) and not receiving tobacco prevention/cessation messaging (OR=4.80; CI 2.79 to 8.27).ConclusionThe results demonstrate that exclusive e-cigarette users in the military have unique characteristics when compared with groups of other/mixed tobacco users. Findings can inform cessation and prevention efforts to improve both the overall health and combat readiness of active duty military personnel.

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Examining Chronic Stress in Spouses of Active Duty Military Members

10.28971/532014jc81 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Cristina Joseph

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Chronic Stress ◽

Multiple Stressors ◽

Active Duty ◽

Military Spouses ◽

Military Family ◽

Active Duty Military ◽

Military Members ◽

The Military ◽

Military Lifestyle

<p>Even in the absence of wartime stressors, the military lifestyle is characterized by frequent challenges that affect not only the military member, but also his or her spouse and children. Due to frequent relocations and deployments, military spouses are often relied upon to become the primary child-rearers, make occupational sacrifices, deal with financial concerns independently, organize relocations, and cope with lack of social support. These multiple responsibilities can create a myriad of stressors, which over time lend themselves to the formation of chronic stress. The purpose of this exploratory study is to determine if spouses of active duty military members display chronic stress according to the Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress (TICS-LE). Seventy-one female military spouses responded to the TICS-LE online. Mean scores for all the factors on the TICS-LE ranged between 1.03 and 2.05, which was lower than expected given the plethora of stressors associated with the military lifestyle. Findings suggested that chronic stress levels experienced by military spouses may be mitigated by high quality social support systems, the demographic factors of the military spouse and whether the military family has developed resilience after years of being embedded in the military lifestyle. This major paper project underscores the need for advanced practice nurses to be aware of the multiple stressors that military spouses face, unique cultural phenomena present in military life, and its possible implications on the psychological and physical functioning of military spouses.</p>

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Voting Behavior of Active Duty Military Spouses: Trends in Interest and Participation

Armed Forces & Society ◽

10.1177/0095327x19901295 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 351-375 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eric D. Button ◽

Anne B. Diallo

Keyword(s):

Voter Turnout ◽

Military Service ◽

Voting Behavior ◽

Active Duty ◽

Service Member ◽

Military Spouses ◽

Civilian Life ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Active Duty Military ◽

Election Process

Despite the expansion of absentee voting protections as recently as 2016, Service member spouses have not enjoyed the same level of voting protections as Service members. Active duty military spouses, uniquely positioned between military service and civilian life, are arguably as important to the election process as their Service member counterparts. Thus, we examine the voting behaviors of this underserved and seldom studied subpopulation. Matsusaka’s information theory–based economic model of voter turnout provides our framework for identifying determinants that shape the voting interest and participation of active duty military spouses. We analyze the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s 2010 Post-Election Voting Survey of Active Duty Military Spouses utilizing logistic regression models. We found that voting interest and participation were increased among respondents who planned to vote, received more election information, voted within the previous 6 years, and who were older; however, voting interest and participation were not diminished by absentee status.

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