TRENDS IN SINGLE PARENTING IN THE US ARMY

Dramatic increases in the percentage of female soldiers, married enlis ted soldiers, spouses in the labor force, female single-parent soldier s, and dual military couples have changed the demography of the Army s ubstantially since the end of the Vietnam War and the institution of t he All Volunteer Army. The presence of single-parent families has perh aps most clearly broken the traditional pattern of the un-married male soldier led by a married male officer. This report documents the incr ease of single-parent families in the U.S. Army since the early 1970s and discusses what effects, if any, such changes may have had on famil y adaptation, retention, readiness, and use of family social-support s ervices.