NCJ Number
216712
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 21 Issue: 6 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 369-380
Date Published
August 2006
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study explored the multi-dimensional context of intimate partner violence victimization and perpetrator among women in the military.
Abstract
Results indicated that enlisted women were nearly four times more likely to be victims of unilateral minor violence at the hands of their male civilian partners than they were to be perpetrators of minor violence. The findings suggest that military policymakers should examine whether a more targeted response to minor violence versus severe violence among military families is necessary. Enlisted women were three times more likely to be victimized by severe unilateral violence than their male partners. Enlisted women were nearly twice as likely as their male partners to experience asymmetrical bi-directional violence in which their male partners inflicted more severe violence. However, over 60 percent of all violence reported was bi-directional and of equivalent severity. This type of symmetrical bi-directional violence was mainly observed in younger and recently married couples. Part-time employment for enlisted women’s spouses increased the women’s risk for bi-directional violence when compared to couples in which the male spouse worked full-time. Participants were 248 enlisted females married to civilian spouses who were stationed at a large Army installation during the summer of 2001. Participants were recruited via a letter to their commander and completed self-report questionnaires that focused on demographic information and patterns of intimate partner violence. Data were analyzed using chi-square calculations. Future research should examine the initiation, motivation, and psychological consequences of symmetrical and asymmetrical bi-directional and unidirectional violence patterns. Tables, references