The present study investigated the processes leading wives of Air Force husbands to identify with their husband's work organization--the United States Air Force. Utilizing the two-person career family pattern, the impact of the husband's work on the wife's identification with his job and his work organization were studied. Theoretical models of family interaction suggesting that increased personal identity by the wife diminishes her identification with the husband's work role were also examined. A path model was constructed to test the explanatory power of these two processes, and to compare the strengths of their influence on the wife's identification with the Air Force. The subjects were selected through a stratified random sampling procedure. The sample consisted of 4,737 married couples located at 24 Air Force bases in the United States and Europe. Husbands were service members and wives were not
