Child Maltreatment and Substance Abuse Among U.S. Army Soldiers

Substance abuse has been cited as a potential risk factor for child maltreatment. This study assessed the odds of certain characteristics being possessed by Service members (e.g., marital status, gender, age) or maltreatment incidents (e.g., severity, recurrence) among Army child maltreatment incidents involving substance abuse during 2000-2004. Of the offenders, 13% were abusing substances during the incident, and several factors (e.g., spousal abuse, male gender, White race) were associated with substance use during offense.