Sociology Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2804
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item The Motivations and Experiences of Mexican Americans in the U.S. Marine Corps: An Intersectional Analysis(2012) De Angelis, Karin Kristine; Segal, David R.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)As one of the largest and fastest growing minority groups in the United States, Mexican Americans are reshaping the major institutions of American life, including the military. The Mexican American military population, although still underrepresented when compared to their presence in the American population generally, is a growing ethnic group. Although growth is occurring across the services, Mexican Americans have a large presence in the U.S. Marine Corps, a trend unlike the military behavior of African Americans, the next largest minority group in the military. This trend holds for both Mexican American men and women, even though the Marine Corps is the most combat-oriented of the service branches and the service branch with the lowest proportion of occupations open to women. Using an intersectional approach and through in-depth interviews of Mexican American men and women serving in the Marine Corps, I examine the personal characteristics, motivations, and experiences that are associated with the decision to join the Marine Corps. I argue that Mexican American Marines, regardless of gender, share common motivations for service grounded in the intersection of their common ethnicity and socioeconomic position. However, while the majority of respondents were drawn to the military because of occupational considerations, I also argue that they felt a connection to the Marine Corps because of its more institutional nature, which intermeshed well with their own individual values. I also compare the experiences of the respondents while in the service. In regard to ethnicity, the majority of respondents discussed the large number of Hispanics in the Marine Corps, even as they noted stratification in the population. They did not view themselves as a minority, but as a population growing in size and influence. These commonalities decline with the application of an intersectional analysis, as gender becomes the most salient and divisive characteristic. Despite their diversity, the women were considered a unified category and as a token population, their proportions shaped the group culture in predictable, visible ways. I conclude by discussing how lived experiences are not only shaped by one's social characteristics, but by the social institutions in which one operates.Item The Financial Well-being of Military Families(2006-06-02) Lipari, Rachel Noble; Segal, Mady W; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Entry into the military is a major turning point in the lives of many young adults; however, little is known about the financial well-being of military families compared to their civilian peers or about the differential effects of aspects of service within the military community. Using representative samples of the United States population and of active-duty military members, this study analyzes 1) differences between military and civilian families in financial well-being; and 2) how characteristics of service affect the financial well-being of military families. Results vary based on the measure of financial well-being examined and by age, race/ethnicity, paygrade/organizational seniority, and spouse employment status. The results generally indicate that the military may be a good place to start because young military families have comparable or more positive financial well-being than their civilian peers, but staying in the military negatively impacts financial well-being. Overall, military families experience a lower level of financial well-being than their civilian peers in regard to income and total household savings (controlling for dual income status, age, number of children, race/ethnicity, and education). Of those families experiencing lower financial well-being, civilian and military spouses share many of the same characteristics, such as being young, being race/ethnic minority members, and having less education. The analysis indicates that the unique aspects of military life do have differential effects on financial well-being. Military families who have experienced longer separations tend to have lower financial well-being, but number of separations and relocations does not have a significant negative impact on financial well-being. Military spouses who are underemployed have less total household income and less positive perceived financial well-being compared to spouses who are not underemployed. Voluntarily exiting the workforce is positively related to perceived financial well-being and saving habits. Suggestions for future research include creating a single measure of wealth, expanding the types of debt analyzed, conducting a longitudinal study of single and married service members to monitor the development of their financial well-being, and conducting more detailed research on the impact of relocations and separations.Item Civilianization of the Military: Social-Psychological Effects of Integrating Civilians and Military Personnel(2005-05-25) Kelty, Ryan D.; Segal, David R.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The U.S. Federal government is increasingly civilianizing the military as a manpower management strategy. Combining military personnel with civilians creates a bifurcated work setting resulting in differential structural and environmental job characteristic between service members and civilians. Analyses of the process and outcomes of Federal civilianization of the military have focused predominantly on economic outcomes and have failed to confirm or refute its effectiveness as a management strategy. In this study I argue that social-psychological outcomes must be considered in evaluating the effects of military civilianization. Data gathered from case studies of the Navy and Army are path analyzed to determine the direct and indirect effects of two civilianization variables on retention intentions. Sailors and soldiers report feeling relatively deprived compared to the civilians with whom they work. For sailors, but not soldiers, these feelings of deprivation decrease with level of contact with civilians. Soldiers and sailors report being satisfied with their jobs, but less satisfied than their civilian co-workers. Civilians are significantly more committed to their employers than service members are committed to the military. While at least 75% of the civilians in each case study lean toward or plan to stay with their current employer, just over a third of service personnel expressed positive intentions to remain with the military. Social comparisons significantly and negatively impact sailors' and soldiers' intentions to remain in military service past current enlistment obligations, but this effect is only indirect through job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Neither level of contact nor social comparisons with civilians have a significant direct effect on intention to remain in service for military personnel. Consistent with prior research, job satisfaction significantly increases organizational commitment, which, in turn, significantly increases retention intentions. Civilian mariner data indicate that social comparisons did not directly or indirectly affect retention intentions. Though sample size limited the ability to path analyze the data from the Army civilian contractors, correlation analysis suggests that similar patterns among variables are present in terms of direction and magnitude of the partial correlation coefficients. Implications of these results and recommendations for future research are discussed.