Publication year
2017
Citation Title
Family characteristics associated with child maltreatment across the deployment cycle of U.S. Army Soldiers.
Journal Name
Military Medicine
Journal Volume
182
Issue Number
9/10
Page Numbers
e1879-e1887
DOI
10.7205/MILMED-D-17-00031
Summary
Deployment can bring extra stress for military families with young children; however, little is known about how Service members' and children's characteristics may influence the potential association between deployment and child maltreatment. This study analyzed the child maltreatment data of 73,404 young children and the deployment history of children's Soldier-parents between 2001 and 2007. Results indicated that certain family characteristics and deployment periods were associated with higher child maltreatment risk than others.
Key Findings
Children were most likely to experience maltreatment six months following their parent's deployment.
Children who were born prematurely, had early special needs, or had a Soldier-parent diagnosed with mental illness were most likely to experience maltreatment.
During the six months before deployment, children of female Soldiers or Soldiers with mental illnesses were more likely to experience maltreatment compared to other time periods.
Implications for Program Leaders
Disseminate information regarding useful resources for military families with young children
Offer workshops during reintegration to help military families adjust to Service members' return
Provide parenting workshops for military families to minimize the risk of child maltreatment
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to raise awareness through media campaigns on military bases regarding the risk of child maltreatment in military families across the deployment cycle
Encourage the development of programs that reduce the risk of child maltreatment in military families
Recommend collaboration among DoD programs and community-based child protection organizations to support optimum child development
Methods
Data were obtained from Patient Administration Systems and Biostatistics Activity, Army Central Registry, and Defense Manpower Data Center between 2001 and 2007.
Measures included child's maltreatment episode and history of premature birth or early special need, and Soldier's deployment history and mental health.
Data were analyzed to examine the associations between family characteristics and child maltreatment.
Participants
Participants were 73,404 children under the age of two years old; each child had one parent who was an Active Duty Soldier and one civilian parent; and 48% of the children were female, 50% were male, and 2% of the children's gender was not reported.
The race/ethnicity and average age of the children were not reported; 647 of the children suffered from child maltreatment during the study period.
Most of the Soldier parents were male (91%) and White (59%); the characteristics of the civilian parents were not reported.
Limitations
All children were under the age of two years old, so results of the study do not apply to older children.
The design of the study made it difficult to examine the causal relationship between deployment, family characteristics, and child maltreatment.
The study was conducted in the Army, so caution must be taken to generalize the results to other military branches.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine the risk of child maltreatment among children who are over two years old and have parents in other military branches
Conduct longitudinal studies to examine the causal relationship between deployment and child maltreatment
Explore other family characteristics that are associated with child maltreatment in military families
Focus
Army
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Soldier deployment can create a stressful environment for U.S. Army families with young children. Prior research has identified elevated rates of child maltreatment in the 6 months immediately following a soldier’s return home from deployment. In this study, we longitudinally examine how other child- and family-level characteristics influence the relationship of deployment to risk for maltreatment of dependent children of U.S. Army soldiers. We conducted a person-time analysis of substantiated reports and medical diagnoses of maltreatment among the 73,404 children of 56,087 U.S. Army soldiers with a single deployment between 2001 and 2007. Cox proportional hazard models estimated hazard rates of maltreatment across deployment periods and simultaneously considered main effects for other child- and family-level characteristics across periods. In adjusted models, maltreatment hazard was highest in the 6 months following deployment (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.63, p < 0.001). Children born prematurely or with early special needs independently had an increased risk for maltreatment across all periods (HR = 2.02, p < 0.001), as well as those children whose soldier-parent had been previously diagnosed with a mental illness (HR = 1.68, p < 0.001). In models testing for effect modification, during the 6 months before deployment, children of female soldiers (HR = 2.22, p = 0.006) as well as children of soldiers with a mental health diagnosis (HR = 2.78, p = 0.001) were more likely to experience maltreatment, exceeding the risk at all other periods. Infants and children are at increased risk for maltreatment in the 6 months following a parent’s deployment, even after accounting for other known family- and child-level risk factors. However, the risk does not appear to be the same for all soldiers and their families in relation to deployment, particularly for female soldiers and those who had previously diagnosed mental health issues, for whom the risk appears most elevated before deployment. Accounting for the unique needs of high-risk families at different stages of a soldier’s deployment cycle may allow the U.S. Army to better direct resources that prevent and address child maltreatment.
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