Publication year
2003
Citation Title
Domestic violence and deployment in US army soldiers.
Journal Name
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Journal Volume
191
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
3-9
DOI
10.1097/00005053-200301000-00002
Summary
It is important to study the relationship between deployment and domestic violence. By administering anonymous surveys to both deployed and non-deployed male Service members, the study examined the relationship between deployment and domestic violence. Results revealed no direct association between deployment and domestic violence, but indicated other risk factors that are related to domestic violence in military families.
Key Findings
Deployment was not related to domestic violence three to four months post-deployment.
Younger Soldiers were more likely to perpetrate domestic violence than their older counterparts.
Soldiers with a history of pre-deployment domestic violence were four to five times more likely to have postdeployment domestic violence than Soldiers without such history.
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer support groups for Service members and military spouses who suffer from domestic violence
Design workshops for Service members regarding how to prevent domestic violence and increase marital satisfaction
Work closely with Service members post deployment, especially the ones with a history of domestic violence
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend anti-stigma campaigns to encourage military spouses to discuss domestic violence
Continue to support family education programs that aim to prevent domestic violence in military families
Recommend education for all professionals working with military families about how to support military family members who are suffering from domestic violence
Methods
Participants were recruited from a large Army unit, and some of them were deployed to Bosnia for six months.
All participants answered anonymous surveys about incidents of domestic violence toward their female spouses before and three to four months after deployment.
Data were analyzed to examine whether deployment affected the likelihood of domestic violence.
Participants
Participants were 1,025 married male Soldiers; 313 of them were deployed to Bosnia from September 1998 to April 1999 (average length = 187 days), and 712 of them were not deployed during that period.
The average age of the participants was 28 years, and they had been married between five and six years.
Nearly 90% of the sample was enlisted, and the majority of the sample were White (57%), followed by Black (23%), Latino (14%), and other (6%).
Limitations
Female soldiers were not included in the sample, therefore the results are not applicable to military families with female Service members.
The study only examined male Soldiers as perpetrators of domestic violence, so it limits the ability to generalize to male soldiers who are victims of domestic violence.
The post-deployment period was limited to three to four month post-return (the “honey moon” period), so it is hard to determine whether domestic violence increases at a later time.
Avenues for Future Research
Recruit both male and female Service members to examine gender differences in post-deployment domestic violence
Investigate the rate of domestic violence for brief and extended time intervals during the post-deployment period
Compare the risk factors for moderate or severe domestic violence
Focus
Army
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Although military deployment has been suggested as a possible cause of increases in domestic violence, little is known about it. The purpose of this study was to determine if deployment of 6 months to Bosnia predicted early postdeployment domestic violence. Active duty recently deployed (N 313) and nondeployed (N 712) male soldiers volunteered to take an anonymous questionnaire. Deployment was not a significant predictor of postdeployment domestic violence. However, younger soldiers, those with predeployment domestic violence, nonwhite race, and off-post residence also were more likely to report postdeployment domestic violence. The predicted probability of postdeployment domestic violence for a deployed 20-year-old, nonwhite soldier with a history of predeployment domestic violence and who lives on-post was .20. For the soldier without a history of predeployment domestic violence, it was .05. Prevention and intervention programs for postdeployment domestic violence shortly after return should target age and persons with a domestic violence history rather than deployment per se.
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