Military family finances: An exploratory study

This study aimed to explore the topic of military family finances in a sample of enlisted U.S. Army personnel stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. The study investigated the role of rank, relationship status, ethnicity, income, and parental status in the financial adjustment and dyadic adjustment of active duty military personnel and their families. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used for three separate models.
The first model examined dyadic adjustment and financial readiness to change by looking at relationship status, parental status, and income. This model found that married participants with incomes over $40,000 showed greater readiness for financial change when compared to their non-married counterparts and, that childless participants and those with multiple children showed less tension in their dyadic relationship at the income levels of below $30,000 and above $40,000 in comparison to the participants with one child. Additionally, participants with one child at the income level of $30,000-$39,999 showed significantly less tension that those with no children or multiple children.
The second model examined dyadic adjustment and financial readiness to change by looking at ethnicity and military ranking. This model found that E4 ranked participants were more motivated for financial change in comparison to E1-E2 and E5-E7 participants and that Caucasian participants were less motivated for financial change than African American, Hispanic, and Other Ethnicity participants and that Caucasian and Other Ethnicity participants experienced greater dyadic distress in comparison to the Hispanic participants. The third model examined dyadic adjustment and positive financial behaviors by parental status, relationship status, and income. This model found that that E1-E2 ranked participants experienced greater dyadic distress in comparison to E5-E7 participants and that non-married participants experience greater relationship distress than married participants.