Abstract
Military sexual trauma (MST) is associated with future intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences among women Veterans. Yet, no studies have examined this relationship among men nor determined whether MST, as a sexual trauma, is more related to sexual IPV than other forms of IPV. Thus, this study examined the associations between MST, and separately military sexual harassment (MSH) and assault (MSA), with both lifetime IPV and past-year IPV (physical, sexual, and emotional) among men and women Veterans. Participants included 1094 Veterans (567 women, 524 men, 3 unknown) from a survey of post-9/11 Veterans enrolled in Veterans Administration healthcare. The survey assessed MST using the VA 2-item screen, past year IPV using the Extended-Hurt Insult Threaten Scream screener, and lifetime IPV using the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire. Chi-square tests revealed that women Veterans reported higher rates of MST, lifetime IPV, and recent sexual IPV. Men reported higher rates of recent overall IPV and recent psychological IPV. Men and women had equal rates of recent physical IPV. For men, MST was associated with lifetime IPV and recent psychological IPV. Among women, MST was associated with lifetime IPV and all forms of recent IPV, particularly sexual IPV. Moreover, IPV had a stronger relationship to MSA than to MSH. Results indicate that MST is related to IPV for men and women Veterans yet this relationship is stronger for women. Importantly, MSA appears more related to IPV than does MSH, underscoring a need to examine these variables separately in future studies.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allard, C. B., Nunnink, S., Gregory, A. M., Klest, B., & Platt, M. (2011). Military sexual trauma research: A proposed agenda. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 12(3), 324–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2011.542609.
Arnocky, S., & Vaillancourt, T. (2014). Sex differences in response to victimization by an intimate partner: More stigmatization and less help-seeking among males. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 23(7), 705–724. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2014.933465.
Bartlett, B. A., Iverson, K. M., & Mitchell, K. S. (2018). Intimate partner violence and disordered eating among male and female veterans. Psychiatry Research, 260, 98–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.11.056.
Black, M. C., & Merrick, M. T. (2013). Prevalence of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking among active duty women and wives of active duty men—Comparisons with women in the U.S. general population, 2010-Technical report. Retrieved from Atlanta, GA:
Booth, B. M., Mengeling, M., Torner, J., & Sadler, A. G. (2011). Rape, sex partnership, and substance use consequences in women veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24(3), 287–294. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20643.
Campbell, I. (2007). Chi-squared and Fisher–Irwin tests of two-by-two tables with small sample recommendations. Statistics in Medicine, 26(19), 3661–3675. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.2832.
Cerulli, C., Bossarte, R. M., & Dichter, M. E. (2014). Exploring intimate partner violence status among male veterans and associated health outcomes. American Journal of Men's Health, 8(1), 66–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988313492558.
Chan, C., Chan, Y., Au, A., & Cheung, G. (2010). Reliability and validity of the “extended-hurt, insult, threaten, scream”(E-HITS) screening tool in detecting intimate partner violence in hospital emergency departments in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine, 17(2), 109–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/102490791001700202.
Classen, C. C., Palesh, O. G., & Aggarwal, R. (2005). Sexual revictimization: A review of the empirical literature. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 6(2), 103–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838005275087.
Coughlin, S. S., Aliaga, P., Barth, S., Eber, S., Maillard, J., Mahan, C., & Williams, M. (2011). The effectiveness of a monetary incentive on response rates in a survey of recent US veterans. Survey Practice, 4(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.29115/SP-2011-0004.
Creech, S. K., & Orchowski, L. M. (2016). Correlates of sexual revictimization among women veterans presenting to primary care. Traumatology, 22(3), 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000082.
Davis, E., Grifka, A., Williams, K., & Coffey, M. (2017). Workplace and gender relations survey of active duty members (report no. 2016-005). Retrieved from Alexandria, VA
Department of Defense. (2017). Annual report on sexual assault in the military, fiscal year 2016. Retrieved from Washington, DC:
Dichter, M. E., & Marcus, S. C. (2013). Intimate partner violence victimization among women veterans: Health, health care service use, and opportunities for intervention. Military Behavioral Health, 1(2), 107–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/21635781.2013.830062.
Dichter, M. E., Cerulli, C., & Bossarte, R. M. (2011). Intimate partner violence victimization among women veterans and associated heart health risks. Womens Health Issues, 21(4 Suppl), S190–S194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2011.04.008.
Dichter, M. E., Haywood, T. N., Butler, A. E., Bellamy, S. L., & Iverson, K. M. (2017). Intimate partner violence screening in the veterans health administration: Demographic and military service characteristics. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 52(6), 761–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.003.
Dworkin, E. R., Menon, S. V., Bystrynski, J., & Allen, N. E. (2017). Sexual assault victimization and psychopathology: A review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 56, 65–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.06.002.
Gurung, S., Ventuneac, A., Rendina, H. J., Savarese, E., Grov, C., & Parsons, J. T. (2018). Prevalence of military sexual trauma and sexual orientation discrimination among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender military personnel: A descriptive study. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 15(1), 74–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-017-0311-z.
Haskell, S. G., Mattocks, K., Goulet, J. L., Krebs, E. E., Skanderson, M., Leslie, D., . . . Brandt, C. (2011). The burden of illness in the first year home: Do male and female VA users differ in health conditions and healthcare utilization. Women's Health Issues, 21(1), 92–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2010.08.001.
Himmelfarb, N., Yaeger, D., & Mintz, J. (2006). Posttraumatic stress disorder in female veterans with military and civilian sexual trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 19(6), 837–846. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20163.
Iverson, K. M., Gradus, J. L., Resick, P. A., Suvak, M. K., Smith, K. F., & Monson, C. M. (2011). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD and depression symptoms reduces risk for future intimate partner violence among interpersonal trauma survivors. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(2), 193–202. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022512.
Iverson, K. M., Mercado, R., Carpenter, S. L., & Street, A. E. (2013). Intimate partner violence among women veterans: Previous interpersonal violence as a risk factor. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(6), 767–771. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21867.
Iverson, K. M., King, M. W., Gerber, M. R., Resick, P. A., Kimerling, R., Street, A. E., & Vogt, D. (2015). Accuracy of an intimate partner violence screening tool for female VHA patients: A replication and extension. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(1), 79–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21985.
Iverson, K. M., Stirman, S. W., Street, A. E., Gerber, M. R., Carpenter, S. L., Dichter, M. E., . . . Vogt, D. (2016). Female veterans' preferences for counseling related to intimate partner violence: Informing patient-centered interventions. General Hospital Psychiatry, 40, 33–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2016.03.001.
Iverson, K. M., Vogt, D., Maskin, R. M., & Smith, B. N. (2017). Intimate partner violence victimization and associated implications for health and functioning among male and female Post-9/11 veterans. Medical Care, 55(Suppl 9 Suppl 2), S78–S84. https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0000000000000741.
Kelley, E. L., Orchowski, L. M., & Gidycz, C. A. (2016). Sexual victimization among college women: Role of sexual assertiveness and resistance variables. Psychology of Violence, 6(2), 243–252. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039407.
Kimerling, R., Gima, K., Smith, M. W., Street, A., & Frayne, S. (2007). The veterans health administration and military sexual trauma. American Journal of Public Health, 97(12), 2160–2166. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2006.092999.
Kimerling, R., Iverson, K. M., Dichter, M. E., Rodriguez, A. L., Wong, A., & Pavao, J. (2016). Prevalence of intimate partner violence among women veterans who utilize veterans health administration primary care. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 31(8), 888–894. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-016-3701-7.
Koss, M. P., Abbey, A., Campbell, R., Cook, S., Norris, J., Testa, M., . . . White, J. (2007). Revising the SES: A collaborative process to improve assessment of sexual aggression and victimization. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31(4), 357–370. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00385.x.
Kubany, E. S., Haynes, S. N., Leisen, M. B., Owens, J. A., Kaplan, A. S., Watson, S. B., & Burns, K. (2000). Development and preliminary validation of a brief broad-spectrum measure of trauma exposure: The traumatic life events questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 12(2), 210–224. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.12.2.210.
Lofgreen, A. M., Carroll, K. K., Dugan, S. A., & Karnik, N. S. (2017). An overview of sexual trauma in the US military. Focus, 15(4), 411–419. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20170024.
McIntyre, L. M., Butterfield, M. I., Nanda, K., Parsey, K., Stechuchak, K. M., McChesney, A. W., . . . Bastian, L. A. (1999). Validation of a trauma questionnaire in veteran women. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 14(3), 186–189. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.1999.00311.x.
Mercado, R., Foynes, M. M., Carpenter, S. L., & Iverson, K. M. (2015). Sexual intimate partner violence as a form of MST: An initial investigation. Psychological Services, 12(4), 348–356. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000056.
Moyer, V. A. (2013). Screening for intimate partner violence and abuse of elderly and vulnerable adults: US preventive services task force recommendation statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 158(6), 478–486. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-158-6-201303190-00588.
Peter-Hagene, L. C., & Ullman, S. E. (2015). Sexual assault-characteristics effects on PTSD and psychosocial mediators: A cluster-analysis approach to sexual assault types. Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy, 7(2), 162–170. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037304.
Portnoy, G. A., Relyea, M. R., Decker, S., Shamaskin-Garroway, A., Driscoll, M., Brandt, C. A., & Haskell, S. G. (2018). Understanding gender differences in resilience among veterans: Trauma history and social ecology. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 31(6), 845–855.
Portnoy, G. A., Relyea, M. R., Street, A. E., Haskell, S. G., & Iverson, K. M. (2019). A longitudinal analysis of women veterans’ partner violence perpetration: The roles of interpersonal trauma and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Journal of Family Violence. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-019-00061-3.
Preiser, B., & Assari, S. (2018). Psychological predictors of sexual intimate partner violence against black and hispanic women. Behavioral Science, 8(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs8010003.
Próspero, M., & Fawson, P. (2010). Sexual coercion and mental health symptoms among heterosexual men: The pressure to say “yes”. American Journal of Men's Health, 4(2), 98–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988308330106.
Relyea, M., & Ullman, S. E. (2017). Predicting sexual assault revictimization in a longitudinal sample of women survivors: Variation by type of assault. Violence Against Women, 23(12), 1462–1483. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801216661035.
Sadler, A. G., Booth, B. M., Mengeling, M. A., & Doebbeling, B. N. (2004). Life span and repeated violence against women during military service: Effects on health status and outpatient utilization. Journal of Women's Health, 13(7), 799–811. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2004.13.799.
Schry, A. R., Beckham, J. C., Workgroup, T. V. M.-A. M., & Calhoun, P. S. (2016). Sexual revictimization among Iraq and Afghanistan war era veterans. Psychiatry Research, 240, 406–411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.04.016.
Smith, S. G., Basile, K. C., Gilbert, L. K., Merrick, M. T., Patel, N., Walling, M., & Jain, A. (2017). National Intimate Partner and sexual violence survey (NISVS) (pp. 2010–2012) state report.
Sparrow, K., Kwan, J., Howard, L., Fear, N., & MacManus, D. (2017). Systematic review of mental health disorders and intimate partner violence victimisation among military populations. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(9), 1059–1080. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1423-8.
Street, A. E., Stafford, J., Mahan, C. M., & Hendricks, A. (2008). Sexual harassment and assault experienced by reservists during military service: Prevalence and health correlates. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 45(3), 409–420. https://doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2007.06.0088.
Turchik, J. A., & Wilson, S. M. (2010). Sexual assault in the US military: A review of the literature and recommendations for the future. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15(4), 267–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2010.01.005.
Ullman, S. E., Filipas, H. H., Townsend, S. M., & Starzynski, L. L. (2006). The role of victim-offender relationship in women’s sexual assault experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21(6), 798–819. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260506288590.
Wilson, L. C. (2018). The prevalence of military sexual trauma: A meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 19(5), 584–597. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838016683459.
Womack, J. A., Scotch, M., Leung, S. N., Skanderson, M., Bathulapalli, H., Haskell, S. G., & Brandt, C. A. (2013). Use of structured and unstructured data to identify contraceptive use in women veterans. Perspectives in Health Information Management, 10, 1–15.
Acknowledgements
This research was support by a VA Health Services Research and Development Award (IIR #12-118).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Relyea, M.R., Portnoy, G.A., Combellick, J.L. et al. Military Sexual Trauma and Intimate Partner Violence: Subtypes, Associations, and Gender Differences. J Fam Viol 35, 349–360 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-019-00079-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-019-00079-7