Survey Comparison: DMDCs 2015 Survey of Active Duty Spouses and Blue Star Families 2015 Military Family Lifestyle Survey

Several findings were found to be similar across the 2015 Survey of Active Duty Spouses 2015 ADSS and the 2015 Military Family Lifestyle Survey e.g., the employment rate, top career fields, self-employment rates, licensurecertification requirements, and reasons for not working however, some important differences emerged, including the spouse unemployment rate, desire to work and educational enrollment among unemployed spouses, and spouses use of financial resources. Although both surveys provide insights into the experiences of military families, only findings from the 2015 ADSS can be accurately generalized to the active duty spouse population as a whole.