Military Divorce Rates Continue Steady Climb

Military Divorce Rates Continue Steady Climb

December 14, 2011
Military.com
by Amy Bushatz

This year's overall military divorce rate has increased slightly over last year's, part of a continued upward trend since 2001, according to Defense Department statistics released Tuesday.

Researchers and military officials say the steady up-tick confirms a reality they have been expecting and dealing with all along -- years of repeated deployments slowly but surely wear on military marriages.

"What we would expect, what we predicted a while ago, is that there would be gradual ripple effects," said Benjamin Karney, an expert on military divorce and researcher with the RAND Corp.
"When we first started analyzing this in 2007, we were not seeing too much of an increase in military divorce. But we suggested that over time the effects on families would expand. And it seems like we're gradually seeing that sort of thing happen."

Since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001, the overall divorce rate among military members has risen from 2.6 percent in 2001 to 3.7 percent in 2011. While the year-to-year rise is statistically small, Karney said, the big picture view shows a military force replete with struggling marriages.
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