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War has a profound emotional impact on military personnel and their families, but little is known about how deployment-related stress impacts the occurrence of child maltreatment in military families. This time-series analysis of Texas child maltreatment data from 2000 to 2003 examined changes in the occurrence of child maltreatment in military and nonmilitary families over time and the impact of recent deployment increases. The rate of occurrence of substantiated maltreatment in military families was twice as high in the period after October 2002 (the 1-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks) compared with the period prior to that date (rate ratio = 2.15, 95% confidence interval: 1.85, 2.50). 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 (rate ratio = 1.28, 95% confidence interval: 1.20, 1.37) or returning from (rate ratio = 1.31, 95% confidence interval: 1.16, 1.48) operation-related deployment. These findings indicate that both departures to and returns from operational deployment impose stresses on military families and likely increase the rate of child maltreatment. Intervention programs should be implemented to mitigate family dysfunction in times of potential stress.

Although there is growing recognition of the problem of dating violence, little is known about how it unfolds among young adolescents who are just beginning to date. This study examined classes (subgroups) and transitions between classes over three time points based on dating violence, bullying, and sexual harassment perpetration and victimization experienced by youth. The sample was ethnically diverse, consisting of 795 seventh-grade students from schools that were part of a multi-site, longitudinal evaluation of a dating violence initiative (50 % female; 27 % White, 32 % African American, 25 % Latino, 16 % other or multiple races). Results from latent transition analyses revealed five classes of students with distinct behavioral profiles: multi-problem (victimization and perpetration), bullying and sexual harassment (victimization and perpetration), bullying (victimization and perpetration) and sexual harassment (victimization only), bullying (victimization and perpetration), and a least problem group. The majority of classes were characterized by reports of both perpetration and victimization for at least one behavior. Girls were more likely to be in the less problematic classes. Class membership was fairly stable across the three time points. When students transitioned to a different class, the shift was most often from a more problematic to a less problematic class, particularly for girls. The findings support understanding dating violence within a dynamic, developmental process that recognizes related behaviors within and across individuals. Overall, the findings highlight the utility of person-oriented approaches to enhance our understanding of longitudinal profiles and transitions over time for dating violence and related behaviors.

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