Military Cohorts, Substance Use, and Male-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

This study considers variations of intimate partner violence (IPV) from the point of the perpetrator to test the impact of demographic factors on the type of IPV most prevalent among pre-9/11 and post-9/11 military families from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (1994–2008): Waves I and IV in-home interviews ( N = 499). Study findings indicate that the perpetration of physical and sexual IPV depends on the context of veteran cohort and race/ethnicity. Models for substance use and IPV patterns were not similar across military cohorts and/or racial/ethnic groups.

Interracial Comparisons of Intimate Partner Violence Among Military Perpetrators

“…When conflict arises within their relationships, veterans or service members may respond violently, reflecting military conditioning. In the end, IPV perpetrators may have feelings of guilt or disconnection that potentially contribute to poorer mental health status, and subsequently higher AOD use/ misuse (Cancio, 2021).…”

“…There is no overarching theory that explains why interracial relationships face an elevated risk of violence (Cancio, 2021); in this study, we have created validated a priori measures of relevant concepts and constructs. We found that (a) White and Black veterans are more violent in monoracial relationships, meanwhile, Latino veterans have a higher IPV prevalence in interracial relationships; (b) Black and White veterans were more likely to use AOD after IPV perpetration in interracial relationships, in contrast, Latino veterans use AOD in monoracial relationships; (c) veteran mental health status was affected after perpetration of IPV, similar to the effects experienced after combat.…”

“…From a military perspective, conflict among service members and their families is closely related to higher levels of health care service use, lower military morale, poorer job performance across actors (i.e., both the perpetrator/s and victim/s), and inflated mission safety risk for service members (Fontana & Rosenheck, 2010). In addition, studies have concluded that beyond injury and death, victims of IPV are more likely to report a variety of acute and chronic health conditions resulting in hospitalization, disability, and/or death (Black, 2011; Cancio, 2020b; Coker et al, 2002). However, among U.S. military IPV perpetrators, empirical research has yet to flesh out the various prevalent forms of violence that manifest distinctively among mixed race military families.…”

Addressing Military Sexual Violence by Proposing a Social Media Influencer Model

“…This social and psychological conditioning into military life includes hyperactive vigilance to perceived threats and emotional distancing from others (Cancio, 2015). The desensitization of service members may influence MSV behaviors (Cancio, 2020).…”

“…Other military-related factors (e.g., exposure to combat, the number of deployments, traumatic brain injury) may also influence MSV behaviors (Cancio, 2020). Military contexts (e.g., military jobs) and stressors (e.g., fear of death or harm) may make service members particularly vulnerable to MSV-related risky behaviors (Cancio, 2017).…”