More than 2 million Americans serve in the U.S. military. About 1.3 million are on active duty, nearly half of them are married, and just over one-third have children. Many of the rest are otherwise partnered, or they live with extended family members.
These military families encounter unique psychological stressors. Frequent relocations disrupt a spouse’s job, a child’s schooling, and family routines. Deployments and the constant threat of war may strain relationships. For dual-military couples, these pressures are compounded. For them, prolonged separation and increased child care needs are even more common.
We are a clinical psychologist and a clinical trauma epidemiologist. Both of us are at the University of Colorado Center for COMBAT Research, where one of our core missions is to improve the psychological health of these families through education, innovation and high-impact research.