Abstract
During overseas deployments, many spouses and families move away from their initial military installation, usually to live with or near relatives. Relatively little has been known about those who move away even though the issue is of importance to the military because its support systems are designed on the assumption that family members are living in proximity to those support systems. The purpose of this research was to describe the characteristics of those who actually moved away during a deployment compared to those who stayed but wanted to leave and to those who stayed. Results generally fit a social exchange model of reasons for moving, staying, or wanting to move but staying. High stress appears to lead to a desire to move but other factors act as barriers or facilitators to actually moving. Military family support did not predict moving away or staying. Implications for military support services are discussed.
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