TY - JOUR
T1 - Soldiers’ perspectives of the Married Army Couples Program
T2 - A review of perceived problems and proposed solutions
AU - Huffman, Ann Hergatt
AU - Dunbar, Nora
AU - Broom, Timothy W.
AU - Castro, Carl A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of the US Army Medical Command or the Department of Defense. We recognize the research coordinator, Blake Miley, for his contributions in managing this project. We gratefully acknowledge the support of numerous personnel at the NAU Military Research Lab, and specifically thank the research assistants, Victoria VanPuyvelde, Louis Irving, Miranda Stover, Mariana Bosch Y Gutierrez, and Alicia Parrot, who assisted with the transcriptions and coding.
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Research Area Directorate for Military Operational Medicine, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command [LOG #10116004/ PROJECT: A-17196] in Ft. Detrick, Maryland for providing funding for this research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, © 2018 Society for Military Psychology, Division 19 of the American Psychological Association.
PY - 2018/7/4
Y1 - 2018/7/4
N2 - The current study investigated soldiers’ perceptions of the Married Army Couples Program (MACP) using data from focus groups conducted with Army personnel in dual-military marriages. Despite the high success rate of the program (approximately 80–83%)—success being defined as establishment of a joint domicile within a 50-mile radius of each spouse’s duty station—a variety of difficulties were reported as well as consequent negative perceptions. Problems included dissatisfaction with the parameters defining joint domicile, obstacles to career advancement, lack of quality information regarding the program, and unequal allocation depending on one’s level of leadership support. Difficulties with MACP led to negative impressions of the program and of the Army as a whole. Specifically, when asked about challenges related to the program, many participants reported perceptions of a poorly functioning program, an uncaring environment, and of the Army as a hypocritical institution. For individuals in dual-military marriages, these difficulties affect quality of life. For the institution, these negative perceptions can potentially lead to problems with retention of one or both members of a dual-military couple. We propose several strategies to improve the effectiveness of MACP and to increase positive perceptions of the program based on suggestions from the focus groups in addition to the military and work literatures.
AB - The current study investigated soldiers’ perceptions of the Married Army Couples Program (MACP) using data from focus groups conducted with Army personnel in dual-military marriages. Despite the high success rate of the program (approximately 80–83%)—success being defined as establishment of a joint domicile within a 50-mile radius of each spouse’s duty station—a variety of difficulties were reported as well as consequent negative perceptions. Problems included dissatisfaction with the parameters defining joint domicile, obstacles to career advancement, lack of quality information regarding the program, and unequal allocation depending on one’s level of leadership support. Difficulties with MACP led to negative impressions of the program and of the Army as a whole. Specifically, when asked about challenges related to the program, many participants reported perceptions of a poorly functioning program, an uncaring environment, and of the Army as a hypocritical institution. For individuals in dual-military marriages, these difficulties affect quality of life. For the institution, these negative perceptions can potentially lead to problems with retention of one or both members of a dual-military couple. We propose several strategies to improve the effectiveness of MACP and to increase positive perceptions of the program based on suggestions from the focus groups in addition to the military and work literatures.
KW - Dual-military marriage
KW - Married Army Couples Program
KW - retention
KW - well-being
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U2 - 10.1080/08995605.2018.1478537
DO - 10.1080/08995605.2018.1478537
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85056989770
SN - 0899-5605
VL - 30
SP - 335
EP - 349
JO - Military Psychology
JF - Military Psychology
IS - 4
ER -