Publication year
2010
Citation Title
Unique risk and protective factors for partner aggression in a large scale Air Force survey.
Journal Name
Journal of Community Health
Journal Volume
35
Issue Number
4
Page Numbers
375-383
DOI
10.1007/s10900-010-9264-3
Summary
Active Duty Air Force members participated in a study examining the risk factors of physical aggression against a partner. Relationship satisfaction, alcohol problems, financial stress, and number of years in the military were identified as predictors of men’s and women’s perpetration of violence against their partners.
Key Findings
Approximately 5% of women and 9% of men reported partner aggression.
For men, partner aggression was inversely related to relationship satisfaction, alcohol problems, and parental support.
For women, partner aggression was inversely related to relationship satisfaction and family coping, marital length, and spousal support for deployment.
Implications for Program Leaders
Incorporate information in their family education classes about risk factors for physical aggression, and how couples can manage conflict in a respectful, healthy manner
Routinely assess Service members and family members who participate in their programming for physical, verbal, and sexual aggression
Offer classes for Service members and their families about the dangers of alcohol abuse and how to set limits on alcohol consumption
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend periodic screening of Service members and their spouses or partners for family violence
Target physical aggression indirectly by developing programs to strengthen workplace-related factors such as satisfaction with the military, work group cohesion, and work relations
Continue to support family violence prevention efforts to reduce intimate partner violence in the military
Methods
Active Duty members at 82 United States Air Force sites worldwide completed a biennial anonymous online survey in 2006.
The survey assessed individual factors (e.g., depressive symptoms, financial stress), family factors (e.g., relationship satisfaction, physical aggression), organizational factors (e.g., satisfaction with the Air Force), and community variables (e.g., community unity).
The survey was administered online between April and June 2006, and took 45 minuted to an hour to complete.
Participants
Fifty-two thousand seven hundred eighty Air Force members participated.
The majority of participants were Male (81% male) and White (74%); race/ethnicity data were not provided.
Pay grade for participants included: 41% E5-E6, 19% E1-E4, 17% E7-E9, 12% O1-O3, and 12% O4 or higher.
Limitations
No data from partners was collected which could change the findings in respect to physical aggression.
All data are self-report and may be biased, especially regarding this sensitive topic of physical aggression.
Only Air Force members were included in the sample; therefore, results may not generalize to other service branches.
Avenues for Future Research
Include partner reports of aggression for comparison to this data
Evaluate reported incidents of physical aggression (such as military security or police reports) to validate these findings
Assess rates of child abuse in families marked by couple violence
Focus
Air Force
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
The objective of this study is to examine risk factors of physical aggression against a partner in a large representative Active Duty Air Force sample. A stratified sample of 128,950 United States Active Duty members were invited to participate in an Air Force-wide anonymous online survey across 82 bases. The final sample (N = 52,780) was weighted to be representative of the United States Air Force. Backward stepwise regression analyses were conducted to identify unique predictors of partner physical aggression perpetration within and across different ecological levels (individual, family, organization, and community levels). Relationship satisfaction, alcohol problems, financial stress, and number of years in the military were identified as unique predictors of men’s and women’s perpetration of violence against their partner across ecological levels. Parental status, support from neighbors, personal coping, and support from formal agencies also uniquely predicted men’s but not women’s perpetration of violence across ecological levels. This study identified specific risk factors of partner violence that may be targeted by prevention and intervention efforts aimed at different levels of impact (e.g., family interventions, community-wide programs).
Abstract Document
PRTW Document
Attach