TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of Sexual Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Among US Military Veterans
T2 - Findings from Surveys with Two National Samples
AU - Iverson, Katherine M.
AU - Livingston, Whitney S.
AU - Vogt, Dawne
AU - Smith, Brian N.
AU - Kehle-Forbes, Shannon M.
AU - Mitchell, Karen S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply 2023.
PY - 2024/2
Y1 - 2024/2
N2 - Background: Sexual violence (SV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences are major social determinants of adverse health. There is limited prevalence data on these experiences for veterans, particularly across sociodemographic groups. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of SV before, during, and after military service and lifetime and past-year IPV for women and men, and explore differences across sociodemographic groups. Design: Data are from two national cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2020. Weighted prevalence estimates of SV and IPV experiences were computed, and weighted logistic regression models were used for comparisons across gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age. Participants: Study 1 included veterans of all service eras (N = 1187; 50.0% women; 29% response rate). Study 2 included recently separated post-9/11 veterans (N = 1494; 55.2% women; 19.4% response rate). Main Measures: SV was assessed with the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory-2 (DRRI-2). IPV was assessed with the extended Hurt-Insult-Threaten-Scream Tool. Key Results: Women were more likely than men to experience pre-military SV (study 1: 39.9% vs. 8.7%, OR = 6.96, CIs: 4.71–10.28; study 2: 36.2% vs. 8.6%, OR = 6.04, CIs: 4.18–8.71), sexual harassment and/or assault during military service (study 1: 55.0% vs. 16.8%, OR = 6.30, CIs: 4.57–8.58; study 2: 52.9% vs. 26.9%, OR = 3.08, CIs: 2.38–3.98), and post-military SV (study 1: 12.4% vs. 0.9%, OR = 15.49, CIs: 6.42–36.97; study 2: 7.5% vs. 1.5%, OR = 5.20, CIs: 2.26–11.99). Women were more likely than men to experience lifetime IPV (study 1: 45.7% vs. 37.1%, OR = 1.38, CIs: 1.04–1.82; study 2: 45.4% and 34.8%, OR = 1.60, CIs: 1.25–2.04) but not past-year IPV (study 1: 27.9% vs. 28.3%, OR = 0.95, CIs: 0.70–1.28; study 2: 33.1% vs. 28.5%, OR = 1.24, CIs: 0.95–1.61). When controlling for gender, there were few differences across other sociodemographic groups, with the exception of sexual orientation. Conclusions: Understanding veterans’ experiences of SV and IPV can inform identification and intervention efforts, especially for women and sexual minorities.
AB - Background: Sexual violence (SV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences are major social determinants of adverse health. There is limited prevalence data on these experiences for veterans, particularly across sociodemographic groups. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of SV before, during, and after military service and lifetime and past-year IPV for women and men, and explore differences across sociodemographic groups. Design: Data are from two national cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2020. Weighted prevalence estimates of SV and IPV experiences were computed, and weighted logistic regression models were used for comparisons across gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age. Participants: Study 1 included veterans of all service eras (N = 1187; 50.0% women; 29% response rate). Study 2 included recently separated post-9/11 veterans (N = 1494; 55.2% women; 19.4% response rate). Main Measures: SV was assessed with the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory-2 (DRRI-2). IPV was assessed with the extended Hurt-Insult-Threaten-Scream Tool. Key Results: Women were more likely than men to experience pre-military SV (study 1: 39.9% vs. 8.7%, OR = 6.96, CIs: 4.71–10.28; study 2: 36.2% vs. 8.6%, OR = 6.04, CIs: 4.18–8.71), sexual harassment and/or assault during military service (study 1: 55.0% vs. 16.8%, OR = 6.30, CIs: 4.57–8.58; study 2: 52.9% vs. 26.9%, OR = 3.08, CIs: 2.38–3.98), and post-military SV (study 1: 12.4% vs. 0.9%, OR = 15.49, CIs: 6.42–36.97; study 2: 7.5% vs. 1.5%, OR = 5.20, CIs: 2.26–11.99). Women were more likely than men to experience lifetime IPV (study 1: 45.7% vs. 37.1%, OR = 1.38, CIs: 1.04–1.82; study 2: 45.4% and 34.8%, OR = 1.60, CIs: 1.25–2.04) but not past-year IPV (study 1: 27.9% vs. 28.3%, OR = 0.95, CIs: 0.70–1.28; study 2: 33.1% vs. 28.5%, OR = 1.24, CIs: 0.95–1.61). When controlling for gender, there were few differences across other sociodemographic groups, with the exception of sexual orientation. Conclusions: Understanding veterans’ experiences of SV and IPV can inform identification and intervention efforts, especially for women and sexual minorities.
KW - abuse
KW - assault
KW - gender
KW - military
KW - sexual orientation
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U2 - 10.1007/s11606-023-08486-9
DO - 10.1007/s11606-023-08486-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 38010460
AN - SCOPUS:85178100786
SN - 0884-8734
VL - 39
SP - 418
EP - 427
JO - Journal of general internal medicine
JF - Journal of general internal medicine
IS - 3
ER -
