Publication year
2017
Citation Title
Sexual assault victimization and mental health treatment, suicide attempts, and career outcomes among women in the US Army.
Journal Name
American Journal of Public Health
Journal Volume
107
Issue Number
5
Page Numbers
732-739
DOI
10.2105/ajph.2017.303693
Summary
Service members that are victims of sexual assault may experience severe emotional trauma and a variety of negative outcomes following the assault. Administrative records of female, Active Duty, sexual assault victims in the US Army and a comparison group were used to determine associations with negative outcomes. The sexual assault victims had an increased likelihood of experiencing mental health treatment and negative outcomes.
Key Findings
Victims were more likely than the comparison group to have various types of mental health treatment and suicide attempts following the sexual assault.
Victims had a higher rate of attrition from military service than both the comparison group and the total population of female Soldiers.
Victimization was associated with subsequent demotion, and demotion rates were higher for victims that did not receive treatment after the sexual assault.
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer support groups for Service member victims of sexual assault
Disseminate information about available resources and help for Service members potentially impacted by sexual assault
Provide evidence-based sexual assault prevention information to Service members
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend education of professionals around the possible effects of sexual assault on Service members
Continue to support programs that address the negative outcomes experienced by Service member victims of sexual assault
Encourage collaboration among military-based programs and community-based organizations to support Service members following a sexual assault
Methods
Administrative records of female Soldiers on Active Duty with a reported sexual assault during the study period (2004 to 2009) were included.
The comparison group of female Soldiers was identified based on having a similar predicted risk of sexual assault prior to the reported assault.
Administrative records were assessed for several negative outcomes in the twelve months following the reported sexual assault.
The likelihood of victims experiencing negative outcomes was compared to the full female US Army population and the comparison group.
Participants
Participants were 4,238 female, US Army Service members with an administrative record indicating a sexual assault victimization.
A total of 21,190 female US Army Service members were used in the comparison group.
Age, race/ethnicity, and rank of the victims and members of the comparison group were not reported.
Limitations
The study only used data from administratively reported sexual assaults. The results may not generalize to Service members with unreported sexual assaults.
Male Service members with records of sexual assault victimization were excluded; therefore, any conclusions may not generalize to male victims.
Only the twelve months following each assault were used; therefore, the long-term consequences of sexual assault victimization were not assessed.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine the outcomes of sexual assault victimization of male Service members
Determine the long-term outcomes of sexual assault victimization on Service members
Explore interventions that may reduce the negative outcomes following a sexual assault
Focus
Army
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Objectives. To examine associations of administratively recorded sexual assault victimization during military service with subsequent mental health and negative career outcomes among US Army women controlling for nonrandom victimization exposure. Methods. We used data from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers to apply propensity score methods to match all 4238 female Regular Army soldiers with administratively recorded sexual assault victimization during 2004 to 2009 to 5 controls per case with similar composite victimization risk. We examined associations of this victimization measure with administratively recorded mental health treatment, suicide attempt, and Army career outcomes over the subsequent 12 months by using survival analysis for dichotomous outcomes and conditional generalized linear models for continuous outcomes. Results. Women with administratively recorded sexual assault had significantly elevated odds ratios (ORs) of subsequent mental health treatment (any, OR = 2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.4, 2.6; specialty, OR = 3.1; 95% CI = 2.9, 3.3; inpatient, OR = 2.8; 95% CI = 2.5, 3.1), posttraumatic stress disorder treatment (any, OR = 6.3; 95% CI = 5.7, 6.9; specialty, OR = 7.7; 95% CI = 6.8, 8.6; inpatient, OR = 6.8; 95% CI = 5.4, 8.6), suicide attempt (OR = 3.0; 95% CI = 2.5, 3.6), demotion (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.9, 2.3), and attrition (OR = 1.2; 95% CI = 1.1, 1.2). Conclusions. Sexual assault victimization is associated with considerable suffering and likely decreased force readiness.
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