Publication year
2012
Citation Title
Spouse abuse and combat-related deployments in active duty Air Force couples.
Journal Name
Psychology of Violence
Journal Volume
2
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
273-284
DOI
10.1037/a0027094
Summary
The records of married U.S. Air Force personnel were reviewed to compare rates of spouse abuse before and after combat deployments to Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF). Overall rates of spousal abuse were lower after deployment than before, and some couples engaged in bidirectional violence.
Key Findings
Twenty-five percent of the couples engaged in bi-directional abuse; in bi-directionally abusive relationship, abuse rates increased after deployment only for moderate to severe abusive incidents that involved alcohol.
Overall rates of spouse abuse were lower after deployment than they were before deployment.
In unidirectional abuse, 75% of offenders were male, 60% of offenders were the deploying partner, and abuse rates increased after deployment only for moderate to severe abusive incidents that involved alcohol.
Spouse abuse rates were significantly higher post-deployment compared with predeployment for more severe abuse and/or when the offender used alcohol.
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide community outreach to at-risk families (e.g., community forums, free classes) regarding healthy means of managing conflicts
Partner with domestic violence prevention experts to provide professional development
Include information in family programs’ educational curricula about bi-directional violence
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend continued tracking of domestic violence rates for Air Force members
Continue to support interventions for Service members and families coping in domestic violence
Recommend installation-wide awareness events about family violence and available resources
Methods
Family Advocacy records of married Air Force members with at least one incident of spouse abuse and one combat deployment between October 2001 and 2008 were used.
Abuse incidents were coded as mild, moderate, or severe.
Incident of maltreatment could be substantiated as physical abuse, emotional abuse, or both physical and emotional abuse.
Participants
Participants included 4,874 married Active Duty Air Force couples.
Forty-seven percent of couples were White, and offenders’ average age was 26.6 years (SD = 6.1 years), while victims average age was 26.2 (SD = 6.1 years).
Average number of substantiated claims per couple = 1.44 (SD = 0.78).
Sixty-nine percent of couples were an Active Duty husband and civilian wife, 11% were Active Duty wives and civilian husbands and 20% were dual military.
Limitations
Use of administrative databases may introduce some measurement errors.
The sample was only Air Force Active Duty, and results may not generalize to other Service members.
The use of only substantiated claims may underestimate the incidents due to under-reporting biases.
Avenues for Future Research
Follow couples engaging in domestic violence longitudinally
Assess how many couples participated in recommended interventions and the impact of such interventions
Explore how combat severity is linked to reports of domestic violence
Focus
Air Force
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Objective: To conduct the first population-based study comparing spouse abuse rates before and after combat-related deployments during Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom among married U.S. Air Force personnel. Method: The sample included all married Air Force members with at least one substantiated incident of spouse physical or emotional abuse and at least one combat-related deployment between October 1, 2001 and October 31, 2008. Results: Overall, 6,063 individuals in 4,874 couples perpetrated 7,003 spouse abuse incidents across 9,676,517 person-days at risk. In couples where only one spouse abused and alcohol was involved, the abuse rate was significantly higher postdeployment. In couples where only the husband abused, the moderate/severe abuse rate was 24.0% higher postdeployment. In couples where only the husband abused, abuse was moderate/severe, and alcohol was used the abuse rate was 36.8% higher postdeployment. Despite these increases, among all abusive couples, the overall spouse abuse rate was 12.6% lower postdeployment. This finding was not moderated by military status, abuse type, year of first deployment, number of deployments, or total deployment duration. Conclusions: The impact of combat-related deployment on spouse abuse rates is variable with incidents involving moderate/severe abuse and alcohol being relatively more likely postdeployment, suggesting a need for focused prevention/intervention efforts. Families struggling with both violence and alcohol problems might benefit from collaboration between the Air Force Family Advocacy Program and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment program.
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