Analysis of Comments from the 1997 Survey of Spouses of Enlisted Personnel

The 1997 Survey of Spouses of Enlisted Personnel was conducted to obtain information from spouses of junior enlisted service members on various aspects of military life. Of particular interest were employment-related issues. While the main results are reported elsewhere, in this paper the authors analyze the written responses when respondents were asked for any comments or concerns they felt there were unable to express through the main body of the survey. A total of 2,672 individuals answered the general open-ended item. This report examines the frequency with which various issues were mentioned in light of background and demographic information supplied by respondents. Highlights of the report include the following: a) compared to spouses of members in CONUS, a higher proportion of those located OCONUS reported problems finding jobs; b) participants in employment assistance programs were more likely to express dissatisfaction with employment assistance efforts than non-participants; and c) those who indicated financial difficulties commented disproportionately higher on financial matters, as well as difficulties associated with childcare, housing, and military life in general than those not indicating financial difficulties.Human Resources Research Organization Alexandria VA is the author of 'Analysis of Comments from the 1997 Survey of Spouses of Enlisted Personnel', published 2000 under ISBN 9781423537502 and ISBN 1423537505.