Reports of spouse abuse in the U.S. Army Central Registry (1989-1997)

Objective: To report the distributions and characteristics of spouse abuse victims and offenders in the U.S. Army Central Registry from 1989 to 1997. Method: Case and population data were tabulated using SAS procedures. Results: There were 61,827 initial substantiated cases, 5,772 subsequent incidents, and 3,921 reopened cases. Victim rates varied between 8 and 10.5 per 1,000 married persons. About 82% of victims and offenders were between the ages of 18 and 31 years. The racial distribution of married active duty white and black victims and offenders was greatly different from that of the married active duty population. The proportion of female victims increased from initial (67%) to subsequent (71%) to reopened cases (75%). Conclusions: U.S. military populations provide unique opportunities to study family violence because of the socioeconomic 'floor' under service members and their families. Comparisons between military and civil populations on precipitating circumstances, case assessment and definition, and treatment efficacy would be fruitful areas for research.