With Parent Away at War, Child Abuse Increases

Stressed women more likely to mistreat kids
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 1, 2007 8:04 PM CDT
With Parent Away at War, Child Abuse Increases
Valerie Lauer, left, and Deb Lauer, of Meadville, Pa., wife and mother (respectively) of Army Spc. Timothy Lauer, react during a memorial ceremony in Harrisburg, Pa., Saturday, May 12, 2007, honoring soldiers who have died from the war in Iraq. Lauer, 25, of Saegertown, Pa., died Oct. 14, 2006, after...   (Associated Press)

Incidents of child abuse and neglect rise significantly when the Army's deployment of one spouse to war leaves the other worried at home, a study finds. An Army-funded report found female spouses four times more likely than males to mistreat their children; the Army has beefed up family-support services to help deal with the issue.

Overall, maltreatment—which can have long-term health consequences for victims—by males and females rose by 40% when one spouse was in combat, the LA Times reports. The most common form of mistreatment was neglect, ranging from lack of supervision to abandonment; emotional and physical abuse, a province of male soldiers, was found to decline during deployments. (More medical research stories.)

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