Domestic violence in the military: women's policy preferences and beliefs concerning routine screening and mandatory reporting.
OBJECTIVE
This study describes active duty military (ADM) women's beliefs and preferences concerning domestic violence (DV) policy in the military.


METHODS
Telephone interviews were completed with 474 ADM women from all services, 119 of whom had experienced DV during their military service.


RESULTS
A majority (57%) supported routine screening. Although 87% said the military's policy on mandatory reporting should remain the same, only 48% thought abuse should be reported to the commanding officer; abused women were significantly less likely than nonabused women to agree with this aspect of the policy. ADM women's beliefs were similar to those of women in a previously studied civilian sample, except that 73% of ADM compared to 43% of civilian women thought routine screening would increase women's risk of further abuse.


CONCLUSIONS
ADM women recognized both advantages and disadvantages of current DV policies. More research is urgently needed about actual outcomes of screening and reporting policies.
Gielen
Andrea Carlson
AC
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Campbell
Jacquelyn
J
Garza
Mary A
MA
O'Campo
Patricia
P
Dienemann
Jacqueline
J
Kub
Joan
J
Jones
Alison Snow
AS
Lloyd
David W
DW
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D008890:Military Psychiatry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011640:Public Policy; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health