Longer Deployments May Lead to Divorce

 Posted on March 05, 2014 in Divorce

Military life can be difficult, particularly during wartime. As couples are forced to spend time apart and deal with the stresses that deployments present in addition to normal marriage challenges, it can sometimes strain a marriage to the point of divorce.

According to a recent RAND Corporation study, the divorce rate among military families increases directly in relation to the length of the deployment. Researchers found that more cumulative months of deployment increased the risk of divorce among couples, particularly for female service members. Though it is believed this may be because cumulative deployment is harder to adjust to in couples where the service member is female, this was not specifically addressed by the study. While any deployment increased the risk of divorce in military families, deployments to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan resulted in a higher rate of divorce than those deployed elsewhere. The divorce rate was also higher for couples married before the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. Those couples were 28 percent more likely to divorce than military couples who married after the attacks. Researchers believe this may have been because couples married after 9/11 were more prepared for the challenges posed by military life than those who were married earlier. Interestingly, the risk for divorce is lower among military families that had children. Military life is not easy under any circumstances, but deployments into a war zone can be incredibly stressful. Unfortunately, sometimes a marriage cannot be saved no matter how hard both parties try. If you are considering filing for divorce, having a qualified attorney on your side can help. Contact the experienced family law attorneys at A. Traub & Associates, Attorneys at Law today. They can help ensure that the divorce process goes as smoothly as possible for you and your family.