Child maltreatment before and after combat-related deployment among active-duty United States Air Force maltreating parents.

Abstract

Objective: To conduct the first population-based study comparing the frequency of child maltreatment among active-duty United States Air Force (USAF) maltreating parents before and after combat-related deployment. Method: By combining archival databases, we identified 2,287 children with a total of 2,563 substantiated maltreatment incidents perpetrated by USAF parents who deployed during an 85-month study period during Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. Results: Contrary to expectations, overall the frequency of child maltreatment was significantly lower after than before deployment, and this pattern did not vary as a function of the number of combat-related deployments. Further, the frequency of child maltreatment was lower postdeployment relative to predeployment for emotional abuse, mild neglect, and maltreatment not involving alcohol, but the frequency was higher postdeployment for child sexual abuse and severe child neglect, particularly when severe child neglect involved alcohol. Conclusions: In general, among children who experienced parental maltreatment by a deploying USAF parent, milder forms of child maltreatment were less common postdeployment, whereas severe types of child maltreatment were more common. Possible explanations implicate predeployment differences in resources and functioning or postdeployment differences in posttraumatic growth and maturation between parental perpetrators of mild versus more severe maltreatment. Postdeployment child maltreatment surveillance efforts should be vigilant for signs of severe forms of child maltreatment, which appear to be most likely to increase.

Child Maltreatment Among U.S. Air Force Parents Deployed in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom

“…We also found that maltreatment rates were consistently lower following deployment when child maltreatment was mild (e.g., did not involve offender alcohol use, did not result in injury to the child victim, and was rated as mild in severity) or when the incident involved emotional abuse. These findings are consistent with results reported in prior research of maltreating parents in deploying families (e.g., Thomsen et al, 2014) and with prior research examining the relationship between combat-related deployments and spouse abuse (i.e., Rabenhorst et al, 2013), which found postdeployment increases in incidents involving severe abuse and offender alcohol use.…”

“…Using an Army sample, McCarroll et al (2008) found that child neglect rates increased following combat deployment. However, using an USAF sample, we (Thomsen et al, 2014) found that child neglect was lower postdeployment compared to predeployment. Thus, we hypothesized that child neglect rates would be lower postdeployment compared to predeployment in our USAF sample.…”

“…Prior research found that rates of child neglect were greater during periods of increased deployment (McCarroll et al, 2008) and were higher postdeployment compared to predeployment in a sample of maltreated child victims (Thomsen et al, 2014). In contrast, this study found no change in the rates of child neglect predeployment versus postdeployment.…”

“…For example, in our previous USAF study (Thomsen et al, 2014) and in this study child maltreatment that was moderate/severe and that involved offender alcohol use increased after deployment whether we examined the child maltreatment victim rates or the child maltreatment perpetrator rates. Likewise, in two USAF studies that examined spouse maltreatment, we observed that moderate/severe spouse maltreatment and spouse maltreatment that involved alcohol use increased after deployment (Rabenhorst et al, 2012;Rabenhorst et al, 2013).…”

Maternal Perspectives on Deployment and Child–Mother Relationships in Military Families

“…Existing studies of young children in military families have found elevated levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems both during and following deployment (Chartrand et al, ; U.S. Department of Defense, ). Direct effects of deployment, although stronger when separations are lengthy, may be more modest overall than indirect effects that are mediated through parents' characteristics and behavior; the predeployment period is not exempt (Jordan et al, ; IOM, ; McCarthy et al, ; Thomsen et al, ).…”