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U.S. reserve soldiers' combat exposure and intimate partner violence: Not more common but it is more violent
Author(s) -
Heavey Sarah Cercone,
Homish D. Lynn,
Goodell Erin Anderson,
Homish Gregory G.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
stress and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1532-2998
pISSN - 1532-3005
DOI - 10.1002/smi.2748
Subject(s) - aggression , domestic violence , poison control , psychology , injury prevention , national guard , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , military personnel , psychiatry , demography , medicine , clinical psychology , medical emergency , public administration , pathology , sociology , political science , law
Combat exposure's influence on intimate partner violence (IPV) in reserve soldiers is not well understood. This work examines combat exposure's influence on IPV in U.S. Army Reserve/National Guard soldiers and partners. Data are from Operation: SAFETY, a longitudinal study of U.S. Army Reserve/National Guard soldiers and partners. Logistic regression models examined odds of sexual aggression, physical aggression, and physical injury with combat exposure, controlling for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, marital satisfaction, and age. Combat exposure was associated with greater physical injury, despite no association between combat exposure and physical aggression. This was significant for male soldier to female partner, as well as female partner to male soldier injury. In addition, female partners were more likely to be sexually aggressive against their male soldiers. Female soldiers' combat exposure was not associated with IPV or injury. Although men's combat exposure did not increase the likelihood of physical aggression, it increased the likelihood of IPV resulting in injury for both husband to wife and wife to husband aggression. Results indicate postdeployment programming should focus on conflict resolution and communication for both partners.