Families and Mission: A Review of the Effects of Family Factors on Army Attrition, Retention, and Readiness

摘要

This Note surveys the available literature on family-manpower relationships as the first step in a broader project aimed at Enhancing the Effectiveness of Army Family Programs. This Note (1) reviews the Army's rationales for provision of quality-of-life and family support services; (2) presents a framework for analyzing the influence of family factors and support programs on Army families and on the Army; and (3) organizes and evaluates findings of previous research about the effects of Army policies and services on both families and the specific Army outcome of attrition, retention, and readiness. In addition, it identifies gaps in knowledge about Army-family interactions, discusses the implications of research findings for Army family policy formulation, and offers directions for future research.