Publication year
2015
Citation Title
Child maltreatment among civilian parents before, during, and after deployment in United States Air Force families.
Journal Name
Psychology of Violence
Journal Volume
5
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
26-34
DOI
10.1037/a0035433
Summary
Child maltreatment is a serious concern for families, and it is important to understand factors that may influence maltreatment rates. Rates of child maltreatment by a civilian parent in a military family were compared before, during, and after deployment. Rates of child maltreatment perpetrated by the civilian parent increased substantially during deployment, but decreased after deployment to levels that were lower than pre-deployment rates.
Key Findings
During deployment, overall rates of child maltreatment by a civilian parent increased by 52%, with physical and sexual abuse rates remaining apporximately the same, emotional abuse rates decreasing by 64%, and rates of neglect increasing by 124% relative to pre-deployment rates.
The rate of child maltreatment by a civilian parent decreased during post-deployment, dropping to 85% of the pre-deployment rates and 56% of deployment rates; however emotional abuse increased 89% from deployment to post-deployment.
Of children abused by their civilian parent, 43% were also abused by their Active Duty parent.
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide childcare and additional support to civilian spouses during deployment
Offer after-school activities and supervision for military children that are free or low-cost
Educate military spouses about the risks for child maltreatment and what they can do or where they can find resources if they are concerned about parenting stress
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support family advocacy programs for families in which child maltreatment is occurring
Encourage the development of support groups for civilian parents married to Service members, especially during deployment
Recommend professional development for those who participate in child abuse awareness programs, highlighting deployment as a time when children may be at increased risk
Methods
Child maltreatment data were collected from the Air Force Family Advocacy System of Records; deployment data was collected from the Clinical Informatics Branch.
The Family Advocacy System classified maltreatment by type and severity, and tracked if substance use was involved in the incident.
Incidents of maltreatment were categorized and frequencies were calculated for variables of timing (i.e., pre-deployment, deployment, post-deployment), nature (i.e., physical, emotional, neglect, sexual), and severity of abuse.
Participants
The dataset included maltreatment data from 400,725 combat-related deployments completed by 240,354 U.S. Airmen between October 2001 and October 2008.
The data included 2,442 maltreated children, and 2,879 verified incidents of child maltreatment by a civilian parent.
Mean age of child victims was 5.4 years (SD=4.4), and 64% were White.
Mean age of parent offenders was 29.1 years (SD=6.2), and they were 68% White and 89% female.
Limitations
As child maltreatment often goes unreported, these figures may underestimate the true extent of the problem.
Without a comparison group, no causal inferences can be drawn;for instance, it cannot be conluded that deployment causes higher rates of abuse.
All maltreatment incidents were with families of deployed Service members and had been substantiated, so results may not generalize to military families with other circumstances.
Avenues for Future Research
Evaluate the relationship between the rates of child maltreatment in military families by civilian parents and by Service member parents
Examine rates for a longer post-deployment period to determine whether rates of maltreatment return to pre-deployment levels over time
Investigate child maltreatment patterns in couples in other branches of the military
Focus
Air Force
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Objective: To conduct the first population-based study comparing child maltreatment rates perpetrated by civilian parents in military families before, during, and after combat-related deployments. Method: The sample included children in United States Air Force families who experienced at least 1 child maltreatment incident perpetrated by their civilian parent and whose active-duty parent experienced at least 1 combat-related deployment between October 1, 2001, and October 31, 2008. Results: During the study period, 2,442 children were involved in 2,879 substantiated child maltreatment incidents perpetrated by the civilian parent. Rates of child maltreatment by civilian parents increased 52% during deployments compared with before the active-duty parent’s first deployment. The overall postdeployment child maltreatment rate was lower than the predeployment and during-deployment maltreatment rates. The large increase in child maltreatment by the civilian parent during deployment compared with predeployment was largely driven by a 124% increase in child neglect. Conclusion: During combat-related deployments, children are at heightened risk of child neglect perpetrated by their civilian parent. These results suggest a need for focused maltreatment prevention/intervention efforts during this time of increased risk of children being neglected by their civilian parent.
Abstract Document
PRTW Document
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