Army Study: Maltreatment, neglect of children jump when parent deployed to combat

Above: A little boy would not let go of his father even during final formation as the 125th Field Artillery of the Minnesota National Guard returned from a 22-month deployment, of which 16 months were in a combat zone.

The rate of child maltreatment jumped 42 percent when a parent was deployed in a combat zone, according to the study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Moderate or severe maltreatment was about 60 percent higher during deployment, and the rate of neglect was almost double...

Two researchers each from RTI International in Research Triangle Park and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill studied nearly 1,800 families that had at least one substantiated report of neglect or abuse and an enlisted soldier who deployed at least once from Sept. 11, 2001, through 2004.

The Army commissioned the study, provided the data and encouraged the researchers to publish the findings.

"Unfortunately, it confirms what we know - that when kids are in a stressful home situation they are more likely to become victims," said Rebecca F. Clendenin, spokeswoman for the child advocacy group Action for Children North Carolina.

Read the rest at the News Press

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