Children benefit most when they have both parents to nurture them, this statement holds true when we look at the plight of children in military families.
We have witnessed that most of the veterans continue to struggle with the horrors of combat, even when they come back to their place of residence. However, recent study on the lives of military families has suggested that children in such families are more prone to emotional, physical and sexual abuse and child neglect and was in peak especially when the troops were deployed in Iraq.
According to the study, victims were usually younger than four years of age and they were abused by the parent itself who remained at home, while the deployment of the spouse. Military families had lower rates of child maltreatment than civilian families before war.
Study’s statement revealed that,
Among military personnel with at least one dependent, the rate of child maltreatment in military families increased by approximately 30% for each 1% increase in the percentage of active-duty personnel departing to or returning from operation-related deployment.
However, previous studies have linked military deployment to higher divorce rates and spousal violence, but this study is the first to suggest a link to child abuse.
The scope of the study was limited, analyzing data from a Texas registry of verified child abuse cases in military and other families in that state from 2000 to 2003, the most recent data available. Researchers found that after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the rate of child abuse stayed relatively stable among both military and non-military families, with the rate among military families lower than non-military.
The rate of abuse dipped after the fighting started in Iraq but stayed above the rate of non-military families but then it escalated again three months into the war.
The issue really needs to take full considerations otherwise it may cause serious repercussions in the long run, both in the lives of defense personnel and their progeny.
