U.S. Army kids under 2 years old are at intensified risk of child abuse and neglect in the first six months of their parents' return from military service, a new study says. The risk may further increase for families with soldiers deployed more than once.
In the study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers at the PolicyLab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) conducted a study focusing on the prevalence of child abuse in military families.
They collected abuse reports and medical diagnoses confirmed by the Department of Defense from families of 112,325 U.S. soldiers deployed from 2001 to 2007. Previous studies showed increased cases of child abuse during deployment, this is the first study to reveal if these incidents still happen upon arrival of the military parent.
"Prior research had revealed an increased risk to children while parents were deployed, mostly due to supervisory neglect while parents were overseas," study author, Dr. David M. Rubin, co-director of PolicyLab said in a press release.
He said that the study was the first of its kind to explore the risk of abuse when soldiers return home from deployment. Increased stress levels when a soldier returns home can have a big impact on their families. Often, it may lead to devastating consequences.
Their findings showed that infants and toddlers of soldiers deployed once were at a greater risk for maltreatment, abuse and neglect. The researchers defined maltreatment as physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and neglect based on the substantiated reports collected by the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) of the Department of Defense.
However, for military soldiers who were deployed more than once, the rate of abuse increased almost two folds after the second deployment. However, records showed that the maltreatment usually committed by a non-soldier caregiver.
"We confirmed an elevated risk for child maltreatment during deployment but also found a previously unidentified high-risk period during the 6 months following deployment, indicating elevated stress within families of deployed and returning soldiers," the authors concluded in the study.
"These findings can inform efforts by the military to initiate and standardize support and preparation to families during periods of elevated risk," they added.
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