Spouse- and Service-related Antecedents of Officers' Commitment: The Case of the Greek Army

Abstract

The importance of an officer's commitment to the armed forces has been widely recognized and investigated. Although family-related issues seem to be of the utmost importance for developing and enhancing an officer's commitment, the evidence that is available is rather scarce. The present study seeks to add to current knowledge by incorporating responses from officers' spouses. In particular, it examines both spouse- and service-related characteristics as antecedents of an officer's commitment to the army setting. This is an area that has been underinvestigated to date. The sample for this study consisted of eighty-six artillery officers of the Greek Army and their spouses. Evidence revealed the lifestyle that the military demands, such as geographical mobility, periodic separations and risk of injury or death, has an impact on spouses' satisfaction with army life and their marriage, which in turn may affect spouses' commitment to the army. Furthermore, as might be expected, spouses' commitment to the army and service-related characteristics of officers do predict the extent to which officers feel committed to the army.