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The impact of combat deployment experiences on intimate partner violence in the Air Force

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Intimate partner violence is a problem in the United States (U.S.) military.
Previous research has identified factors that increase a couple’s risk for engaging in
violence. Most of these factors, such as age, alcohol, and relationship satisfaction are
consistent across civilian and military samples. One factor that is unique to military
samples is deployment; service members can be exposed to unique traumatic incidents
while deployed which are generally unknown to most civilians. Deployments can also
increase a service member’s risk for developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),
which can increase their risk for intimate partner violence. Previous research on the effect
of deployments on intimate partner violence has produced mixed results. The purpose of
this study was to analyze if deployment, total length of deployment, combat experiences
from deployment, and PTSD symptoms increased risk for Air Force airmen to perpetrate
intimate partner violence at a moderate or severe level of violence. Survey data from a
representative sample of active duty Air Force airmen (N = 1,501) was used to conduct
Chi-Square analyses and multinomial logistic regression models for perpetrated violence.
Results of the study showed that deployment and combat experiences were not significant
predictors of perpetrated violence. PTSD symptoms, in addition to alcohol misuse and
relationship satisfaction, were significant predictors of moderate and severe perpetrated
violence. In terms of practice and policy implications, the study results underscore the
importance of widespread screening for these risk factors as well as the availability of
interventions focused on alcohol use and relationship issues among service members. Future research could determine if PTSD symptoms moderate the relationship between
combat experiences and intimate partner violence.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/14317
Date07 August 2017
CreatorsHyer, Steven Matthew
ContributorsDaley, James G., Adamek, Margaret E., Kondrat, David C., Seybold, Peter
Source SetsIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDissertation

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