Alcohol use in nonmutual and mutual domestic violence in the U.S. Army: 1998-2004.

The association between alcohol use and substantiated incidents of nonmutual and mutual domestic violence between U.S. Army enlisted soldiers and their spouses was examined for the period 1998-2004. Maltreatment was always more severe in nonmutual incidents. Female victims experienced more severe maltreatment than males. Male offenders and victims were more likely to be drinking than females. For victims of both sexes, severity was greater when offenders were drinking. Older males were more likely to be offenders in nonmutual incidents. White males were more likely than Black or Hispanic males to be offenders in nonmutual incidents. There is a need for both domestic violence and alcohol treatment programs to focus on the increased risk of abuse when alcohol is involved.

Establishing and maintaining a volunteer victim advocate program to assist victims of domestic violence in the U.S. Army.

A descriptive evaluation of a volunteer victim advocacy (VA) program was conducted to assist domestic violence victims on the scene of a domestic violence incident on a 24-hour per day basis at a U.S. Army installation. A total of 87 volunteers contributed data to this evaluation. The VAs conducted on-the-spot client safety planning using risk factor assessment. Additional information was given to the client about post programs and services. VAs were evaluated and monitored through initial, periodic, and exit interviews. They were asked about their training needs, the most difficult situations they confronted, what they did best, and whether the VA program met their personal needs. While the Army supports victim advocacy by regulation, it often does not provide sufficient funds to support the hiring of the necessary staff. Hence, a volunteer program may be the only feasible approach to provide advocacy assistance for abused spouses in the Army above a minimum level. Drawing on the services of trained volunteers allowed the Family Advocacy Program at this installation to accomplish its mandated mission. Suggestions for further research in VA programs are presented.

Characteristics of domestic violence incidents reported at the scene by volunteer victim advocates.

At a single U.S. Army installation from 1997 to 2005, domestic violence volunteer victim advocates assisted 1,417 clients in 1,380 physical and 301 verbal abuse incidents. The average soldier and spouse population during this time was slightly less than 10,000. Advocates went to the scene of the incident to talk to the victim to ensure that her/his rights were observed, to determine whether the victim was safe, was referred to the hospital social work service for assessment, and had the information necessary to negotiate the complex military and community systems. The advocate inquired of the victim the characteristics of the incident and risk factors in the history of the relationship. In many incidents, risk factors indicated a history of serious violence by the offender including an increasing level of violence, stalking, and assaults. Frequently reported precipitants of incidents were relationship problems, jealously, and infidelity. Spouses often reported previous attempts to leave and to get help. Advocates play an important role in gathering information uniquely available at the scene that can be useful in planning education and intervention programs to reduce domestic violence in the Army, the military services, and civilian society.

Positive and negative consequences of a military deployment.

This study determined the perception by 951 U.S. Army soldiers of positive and negative consequences of a peacekeeping deployment to Bosnia. Seventy-seven percent reported some positive consequences, 63% reported a negative consequence, and 47% reported both. Written comments were also provided. Of the 951 soldiers, 478 wrote at least one positive comment and 403 at least one negative comment. Single soldiers were more likely than married soldiers to report positive consequences (82% vs. 72%). Married soldiers were more likely than single soldiers to report negative consequences (70% vs. 55%). Positive consequences included making additional money, self-improvement, and time to think. Negative consequences included the military chain of command, being away from home, and deterioration of marital/significant other relationships.

Classification of the severity of U.S. Army and civilian reports of child maltreatment.

This study compares reports of the severity of child maltreatment for the U.S. Army and a civilian jurisdiction, Washington State (WS). Such comparisons can provide important information on risk and protective factors in designing prevention programs. An understanding of the differences facilitates the tailoring of interventions to better fit the characteristics of each community. The ages of the children in the WS cases were significantly older than the cases of the Army children. In both populations, neglect was the most prevalent form of maltreatment, followed in order by physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. The percentages of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect were not statistically different, but the Army classified three times the number of emotional abuse cases as WS. The Army also classified more cases of physical abuse as severe (11%) compared with WS (5%). However, 16% of WS neglect cases were classified severe compared with 3% of Army cases.

Comparison of U.S. Army and civilian substantiated reports of child maltreatment.

Little is known about the similarities and differences between civilian and military child maltreatment cases and no recent study has compared them directly. Understanding the nature of the problems in each could lead to identifying strengths and weaknesses for the development of more helpful prevention and treatment programs. The overall rates of child maltreatment in the U.S. civilian population (14.7 to 11.8 per 1,000) were about double the Army rates (7.6 to 6.0 per 1,000) from 1995 to 1999. These differences were largely because of the higher rate of neglect in the U.S. data--about three times that of the Army--and may be because of factors that are largely controlled in the Army such as poverty, severe substance abuse, homelessness, and other social variables. For 1999 only, we examined the type of maltreatment by age and sex, the victim rates by race/ethnicity, and the relationship of perpetrator to victim.

Patterns of mutual and nonmutual spouse abuse in the U.S. Army (1998-2002).

The pattern and severity of substantiated mutual and nonmutual spouse abuse between U.S. Army enlisted personnel and their spouses was determined for 1998 to 2002. The number of nonmutual and mutual abuse victims was equal in 1998, but by 2002 there were about twice as many non mutual as mutual victims. The rate per thousand of mutual abuse decreased by 58% while that of nonmutual abuse decreased by 13%. The rate per thousand of female victims was always greater than male victims for non-mutual abuse and the severity of abuse of female victims was always more severe than male victims. The active duty female had the highest risk of becoming a victim. These patterns of mutual and nonmutual domestic abuse in the U.S. Army suggest that prevention and educational approaches could be developed that would be useful to prevention specialists and to clinicians as the Army pursues avenues to reduce domestic violence.

Patterns of spouse and child maltreatment by discharged U.S. Army soldiers.

The transitional compensation (TC) program of the U.S. Army provides financial and other benefits to the families of service members discharged for child or spouse maltreatment. We analyzed the TC records of the 347 offenders, 337 spouses (160 victims and 177 nonvictims) who were applicants for benefits, and 820 children (244 victims and 576 nonvictims). One hundred fifty-two spouses were physically abused and eight were sexually abused. One hundred eighty-two children were sexually abused, 61 were physically abused, and one was emotionally abused. The Army Central Registry (ACR) of child and spouse maltreatment cases was examined to determine whether the TC offenders and victims had a history of prior maltreatment and to assess its severity. Ninety percent of the TC offenders had an ACR history as child or spouse maltreatment offenders. Seventy-four percent of the TC child abuse victims had an ACR history as victims, and 81 percent of the TC spouse abuse victims had such a history. The severity of maltreatment in the ACR of TC child and spouse victims was greater than the overall severity of maltreatment for those in the ACR database who were not in the TC database. Other children in the family who had not been identified as TC victims also had an ACR history that was more severe. Health and social service agencies should be aware of the TC program and be knowledgeable about its benefits for family members of soldiers discharged for abuse-related offenses.