Citation

Lester D. J. Divorce Remarriage 1993; 19(1-2): 229-231.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12179705

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of military participation on marriage, divorce, and births in the US between 1933 and 1986. It is hypothesized that war decreases both the divorce and birth rate and that military returns increase the divorce and birth rates. Data were obtained from published sources: Historical Statistics of the United States and annual issues of the Statistical Abstract of the US. Time-series multiple regression with the Cochrane-Orcutt correction for autocorrelation revealed that when military participation was higher, birth and marriage rates declined. Divorce rates were unaffected. Demobilization did not show any effects on birth, marriage, or divorce rates. These findings support the work of Urlanis on the decline in birth rates during wartime, but contradicts the findings of Stein on the increases of divorce during wartime.

Language: en