Military deployment of a parent is a risk factor for children’s internalizing and externalizing
problems. This risk may be heightened in National Guard and Reserve (NG/R) families who tend
Cultural adaptations to existing interventions have been found to increase participant engagement and satisfaction.
Objective: The U.S. Air Force recently implemented system-wide changes that both (a) clarified the criteria used to determine when family maltreatment has occurred and (b) made the process by which these decisions are made more consistent.
Air Force child and spouse maltreatment reports were utilized to examine how the implementation of revisions to maltreatment criteria influenced overall rates of substantiation and one-year recidivism.
The present study describes the sources of Air Force (AF) Family Advocacy Program referrals (N = = 42,389) for child and spouse maltreatment between 2000 and 2004. Sources of referrals were stable over time, with military sources accounting for the majority of both child and spouse referrals.
Suspected child and spouse maltreatment reports were evaluated to determine referral source for Air Force families. Suspected Air Force child maltreatment reports were then compared to U.S. national child maltreatment data to explore how referral source differed among the samples.
Purpose: Geographic moves have been reported to have a negative impact on the mental health of children, but it is often difficult to separate the effect of the move from the circumstances that impelled it. Military populations may offer a way to examine this issue.