Does Ethnicity Affect the Coping of Military Spouses?

Abstract

This article presents results of an exploratory study of how Army military spouses with children cope with everyday stresses varies based on ethnic background. The study used data from 4,464 respondents of the 2001 Survey of Army Families IV (SAF IV). SAF IV, fielded April through July 2001, was used to reduce the confounding associated with the Iraq war. The results of five-stepwise regressions indicated that there were four common predictors and four ethnically specific predictors of how spouses cope. It was also found that the major sample (Caucasian) was most reflective of the analysis of the total sample of 4,464. Two of the primary predictors of spouse coping were the Problems Experienced Scale and the spouses’ ability to keep themselves well informed about the Army. Study findings suggest that while similarities in coping exist between ethnic groups, there are also important ethnic differences in coping relevant to family policy and practice. These differences warrant further study based on a larger sample of spouses