Acceptance matters: Disengagement and attrition among LGBT personnel in the U.S. Military

TY - JOUR

T1 - Acceptance matters

T2 - Disengagement and attrition among LGBT personnel in the U.S. Military

AU - McNamara, Kathleen A.

AU - Gribble, Rachael

AU - Sharp, Marie-Louise

AU - Alday, Eva

AU - Corletto, Giselle

AU - Lucas, Carrie L.

AU - Castro, Carl A.

AU - Fear, Nicola T.

AU - Goldbach, Jeremy T.

AU - Holloway, Ian W.

N1 - Funding Information: Nicola T. Fear is partly funded by a grant from the UK Ministry of Defence. Funding Information: The U.S. military has undergone several changes in policies toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) service members over the past decade. Some LGBT service members report continued victimization and fear of disclosing their LGBT identity, which can affect retention of LGBT personnel serving in the military. However, there is little research on this population. This study uses data from a survey funded by the U.S. Department of Defense (2017-2018) and completed by 544 active-duty service members (296 non-LGBT and 248 LGBT) to better understand the career intentions of LGBT service members. Of transgender service members, 33% plan to leave the military upon completion of their commitment, compared with 20% of cisgender LGB and 13% of non-LGBT service members. LGBT service members were twice as likely as non-LGBT service members to be undecided as to their military career path. Lower perceived acceptance of LGBT service members in the workplace was associated with a higher risk of leaving among LGBT service members. Lower perceived unit cohesion was associated with attrition risk for all members, regardless of LGBT status. These findings suggest that the U.S. military can do more to improve its climate of LGBT acceptance to prevent attrition. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/9

Y1 - 2021/9

N2 - Introduction: The U.S. military has undergone profound changes in its policies toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) service members (SMs) over the past decade. Although emerging evidence indicates that some LGBT SMs perceive their co-workers as supportive, a sizable group report continued victimization, harassment, and fear of disclosing their LGBT identity. Because employee perception of cohesion and belonging affects retention in the workplace, such discrimination is likely to affect retention of LGBT military personnel. Methods: Survey data come from a study funded by the U.S. Department of Defense (2017-2018) and completed by 544 active-duty SMs (non-LGBT n = 296; LGBT n = 248). Multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine military career intentions among SMs according to socio-demographics, perceived acceptance, and unit climate. Results: One in 3 transgender SMs plan to leave the military upon completion of their service commitment, compared with 1 in 5 cisgender LGB SMs and 1 in 8 non-LGBT SMs. LGBT SMs were twice as likely as non-LGBT SMs to be undecided about their military career path after controlling for confounding variables. Lower perceived LGBT acceptance was associated with a higher risk of attrition among LGBT SMs. Lower perceived unit cohesion was associated with attrition risk for all SMs. Discussion: These findings suggest that, although some LGBT SMs may feel accepted, the U.S. military could do more to improve its climate of acceptance to prevent attrition, especially for transgender SMs. Taking measures to prioritize unit cohesion would improve retention of qualified LGBT and non-LGBT SMs.

AB - Introduction: The U.S. military has undergone profound changes in its policies toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) service members (SMs) over the past decade. Although emerging evidence indicates that some LGBT SMs perceive their co-workers as supportive, a sizable group report continued victimization, harassment, and fear of disclosing their LGBT identity. Because employee perception of cohesion and belonging affects retention in the workplace, such discrimination is likely to affect retention of LGBT military personnel. Methods: Survey data come from a study funded by the U.S. Department of Defense (2017-2018) and completed by 544 active-duty SMs (non-LGBT n = 296; LGBT n = 248). Multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine military career intentions among SMs according to socio-demographics, perceived acceptance, and unit climate. Results: One in 3 transgender SMs plan to leave the military upon completion of their service commitment, compared with 1 in 5 cisgender LGB SMs and 1 in 8 non-LGBT SMs. LGBT SMs were twice as likely as non-LGBT SMs to be undecided about their military career path after controlling for confounding variables. Lower perceived LGBT acceptance was associated with a higher risk of attrition among LGBT SMs. Lower perceived unit cohesion was associated with attrition risk for all SMs. Discussion: These findings suggest that, although some LGBT SMs may feel accepted, the U.S. military could do more to improve its climate of acceptance to prevent attrition, especially for transgender SMs. Taking measures to prioritize unit cohesion would improve retention of qualified LGBT and non-LGBT SMs.

KW - Attrition

KW - Bisexual

KW - Gay

KW - Lesbian

KW - LGBT

KW - LGBT inclusive policies

KW - Military

KW - Military health

KW - Retention

KW - Sexual and gender minorities

KW - Transgender

KW - U.S

KW - Unit cohesion

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116763751&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3138/jmvfh-2021-0017

DO - 10.3138/jmvfh-2021-0017

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85116763751

SN - 2368-7924

VL - 7

SP - 76

EP - 89

JO - Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health

JF - Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health

IS - s1

ER -