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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Sandra L. Martin, PhD¹, Deborah A. Gibbs, MSPH², Ruby E. Johnson, MS², Danielle E. Rentz, MPH³, Monique Clinton-Sherrod, PhD², and Jennifer Hardison, MSW². (1) Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 403 Rosenau Hall, CB# 7445, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445, (919) 966-5973, sandra_martin@unc.edu, (2) RTI International, PO Office Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, (3) Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, CB # 7435, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7435

Purpose: Family violence that occurred within a five year period was examined among 10,864 Army soldiers who had been substantiated for spouse and/or child offenses. Methods: Three groups of family violence offenders were compared: those who perpetrated spouse offenses only; those who perpetrated child offenses only; and those who perpetrated both spouse and child offenses. Results: More than half of all family violence offenders were spouse offenders who had not committed child abuse (60%), followed by child offenders who had not committed spouse abuse (28%), and lastly those who committed both spouse and child abuse (12%). The three groups of family violence offenders differed in terms of the types of abuse they perpetrated (emotional abuse, physical abuse, etc.), their experiences of being a spouse abuse victim, and their sociodemographic characteristics (sex, age, pay grade). Multiple abusive incidents were perpetrated by 12% of all spouse abusers and 10% of all child abusers. Family violence fatalities were greater among children than spouses, although none of the deaths resulting from child abuse and only one of the deaths resulting from spouse abuse were the result of a soldiers' second or later incident of family violence. Conclusions: Variations in the types of family violence perpetrated by soldiers and the characteristics of the abuse perpetrators suggest that interventions should be tailored to meet the needs of these families to facilitate the treatment of these complex problems.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participants will

• Know that the Army Family Advocacy Program provides care for those in Army families who experience family violence, and that the Army Central Registry is a confidential electronic information system that contains information concerning spouse and child abuse among Army families.
• Recognize that over half of all soldiers substantiated for family violence within the US Army commit offenses against spouses, while others commit offenses against children or against both their spouse and their children.
• Recognize that multiple incidents of substantiated family violence are not common among Army soldiers.

Keywords: Violence,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered