Prevalence and Correlates of Interpersonal Violence Victimization in a Junior Enlisted Navy Cohort

• NCJ Number: 213028
• Journal: Violence and Victims Volume: 20 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2005 Pages: 679-694
• Author(s): Carol Cunradi Ph.D.; Genevieve Ames Ph.D.; Roland Moore Ph.D.
• Date Published: December 2005
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): P 50 AA 06282-16
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study assessed the prevalence of and factors related to interpersonal-violence victimization in a cohort of 493 male and 220 female junior Navy personnel who participated in a cross-sectional followup study on health-related behaviors.

Abstract

A total of 117 respondents (16.4 percent) reported being victims of interpersonal violence in the past year; and 32 respondents (4.5 percent) reported being sexually victimized in the past year. There were no significant differences in the proportion of men and women reporting either type of victimization. For women, the majority of perpetrators (60.1 percent) were intimate partners. For men, the majority of perpetrators (64.5 percent) were strangers and "others." Among men, significant factors related to experiencing interpersonal violence were depression and tobacco use. For females, factors related to being a victim of interpersonal violence were depression and frequent heavy drinking. The study sample was drawn from 2,160 Navy enlisted recruits undergoing basic training at Recruit Training Command during August 1998. Baseline data were obtained with a self-administered questionnaire, and followup questionnaires were mailed to participants at their duty stations between February and August 2000. Interpersonal-violence victimization in the past year was measured by asking respondents whether they had been "hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt by someone." Relational characteristics of the perpetrator were also reported. Other variables measured were frequent heavy drinking, tobacco use, drug use, high-risk sexual behavior, depression, parental alcoholism, and sociodemographic factors. Bivariate tests (chi-square tests of independence, t tests) were used to analyze gender differences in respondent characteristics and in prevalence rates. Gender-specific multivariable logistic regression models assessed factors associated with the likelihood of reporting past-year interpersonal-violence victimization. 4 tables and 61 references