title: Occurrence of maltreatment in active duty military and nonmilitary families in the State of Texas.
abstract: This study compared the occurrence of child maltreatment in military and nonmilitary populations. Data came from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. All cases of child maltreatment substantiated from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2002, in the state of Texas were analyzed. The rate of occurrence of substantiated maltreatment was lower for children in military families compared with children in nonmilitary families (5.05 vs. 7.89 per 1000 person-years). A greater proportion of caretakers of children in nonmilitary families compared with military families reportedly had financial problems (18.7% vs. 5.2%) and received public assistance (28.2% vs. 8.9%). The rate of occurrence of substantiated child maltreatment appears to be lower in military than nonmilitary families. The proportion of families with financial problems and public assistance is lower in military than nonmilitary families, suggesting that these factors may increase stress in families and the risk of maltreatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, CB 7435, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: E Danielle
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Rentz
authors.forename: Stephen W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: Sandra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Gibbs
authors.forename: Carri
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Casteel
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Loomis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011632:Public Assistance; D044469:Racial Groups; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology