Publication year
2004
Citation Title
Domestic violence and post-traumatic stress disorder severity for participants of a domestic violence rehabilitation program.
Journal Name
Military Medicine
Journal Volume
169
Issue Number
6
Page Numbers
470-474
DOI
10.7205/milmed.169.6.470
Summary
Completion of a rehabilitation program for Service members that perpetrate domestic violence can be vital for the well-being of military families and the community. Characteristics of Service members that successfully completed a domestic violence perpetrator rehabilitation program were examined. Findings indicate that Service members’ ages, employment, and posttraumatic stress (PTSD) severity have a significant effect on program rehabilitation completion.
Key Findings
The participants of the domestic violence rehabilitation program were more likely to be employed and under 35 years old.
Other characteristics of program participants included higher reported mutual respect in their relationships, lower levels of stress and posttraumatic stress, and being actively monitored by the court or probation service
Severity of PTSD was significantly related to severity of domestic violence.
Military status, ethnicity, witnessing domestic violence as a child, and substance use did not significantly impact completion of the program.
Implications for Program Leaders
Enhance education opportunities to teach military couples skills that improve relationship mutuality and problem solving
Provide workshops to help teach stress and posttraumatic stress management to military couples who may be at risk for domestic violence
Tailor rehabilitation efforts to address aspects that may arise when working with a military population, such as required military duties
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend collaboration among DoD programs and the VA system to increase access to effective rehabilitation programs for perpetrators of domestic violence
Encourage rehabilitation professionals to receive training on military culture and PTSD to better serve a military population
Promote rehabilitation programs that address the unique challenges of Service members
Methods
Participants were voluntarily recruited from a domestic violence perpetration rehabilitation program offered by an Army medical center and a Veteran’s Administration medical center in a joint effort.
Self-report questionnaires were given to the participants to collect information on demographics, battering history, exposure to violence, substance use, criminal history, and court-ordered status.
Data were analyzed in order to better describe program participants and to observe characteristics of completion or non-completion of the program.
Participants
Sample size was 62 men, ages ranging from 20 to 62 years old (M = 38.81).
Races and ethnicity of the sample were White (55%), Black (29%), Latino (6%), Asian-American (5%), Native American (3%) and Multiracial (2%).
Military status of the participants was Active Duty (23%) and Veteran (77%). Breakdown of the service branches was not included.
Limitations
There was a high attrition rate in the study. Participants that withdrew from the study may differ than those that remained in a significant way.
A small sample size was used from one location, limiting the generalizability of this sample to other military populations.
There was no evidence of the effectiveness of the rehabilitation program long term since no follow-up was conducted.
It is unclear how participant information was collected, leading to a potential bias in how participants responded.
Avenues for Future Research
Recreate this study with a larger sample in a military population to improve generalizability
Explore the relationship between domestic violence perpetration and the type of PTSD (from civilian or military trauma)
Examine the relationship between PTSD level, domestic violence, and attrition rates
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
Domestic violence has been a long-standing problem for our nation's active duty and military veterans. The purpose of this article is to describe participants of a domestic violence program, the program design to help lessen attrition, and the completers and noncompleters of the program. There was a significant relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and domestic violence severity for the sample. PTSD severity was also related to reports of domestic violence in the family of origin. Completers and noncompleters were compared on demographic and violence variables and on nine research measures. Completers were more likely younger than 35 years old, employed, had higher self-ratings of relationship mutuality, lower levels of stress and post-traumatic stress, and were regularly court monitored. The results of a logistic regression significantly predicted completers and noncompleters based on age, relationship mutuality, PTSD, and court-monitored status (model χ2 statistic of 31.08, p = 0.0000).
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