Active-duty military service in the United States: Cohabiting unions and the transition to marriage

Abstract

A small but growing body of research has begun to identify the consequences of military service during the all-voluntary era. Previous literature has emphasized the role played by the economic prospects of men in stimulating marriage, among both singles and cohabiters. Military service and marriage are related through pay rates, stability of employment and additional benefits awarded to married couples. In this article, we examine the relationship between military service and the likelihood that cohabiting unions will be converted into marriages. Our paper extends previous research by making a distinction between the effects of active-duty verses reserve-duty service on the transition to marriage using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Our findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between active-duty service and cohabitors transitioning to marriage. © 2009 Lemmon, Whyman & Teachman.