This study examined the combined impact of individual-level and group-level variables on self-reported intimate partner violence, operationally defined as mild to severe physical aggression on the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale, among married male U.S. Army soldiers. The sample comprised 713 servicemen from 27 companies stationed at an Army post in the Alaskan interior. Group-level variables were based on individual reports on various dimensions of group climate aggregated at the company level. Contextual analyses were conducted using a variety of regression approaches. Individual-level predictor variables significantly associated with intimate partner violence included race, symptoms of depression, poor marital adjustment, alcohol problems, and a history of childhood abuse. Group-level predictor variables significantly associated with intimate partner violence included lower leadership support (vertical cohesion), a culture of hyper-masculinity (operationally defined as increased group disrespect), and lower support for spouses.

Lifetime trauma history was assessed in a health study of active duty United States Army soldiers. Five hundred fifty-five male and 573 female soldiers in the sample were asked whether they had ever experienced 14 different potentially traumatic experiences, including sexual assaults, violent stressors to self, and terrifying events that occurred to others and were secondarily traumatic through exposure by gaining information or as a witness to the event. Most soldiers had experienced multiple traumas, and premilitary exposure to events was much more common than exposure to events after entering the military. Global measures of current psychological distress and physical health symptoms were predicted by the lifetime number of sexual assaults and traumas to self. Social support from military unit leaders moderated the relationship between accumulated exposure to traumas and both health measures, whereas unit cohesion was directly associated with fewer mental health problems.

The goals of this study were to explore some of the ways gender affects cohesion and readiness in the small military unit, and to examine its impact on variables that may be related to unit cohesion, such as a culture of hypermasculinity. Using data from a 1998 survey of U.S. Army soldiers, the study found that men in male-only units manifested more group hypermasculinity than those in mixed gender units, and that group hypermasculinity was associated with higher levels of cohesion in male-only units, but not in mixed gender units. In addition, in male-only units, group hypermasculinity was, paradoxically, associated with a positive environment for spouses. On the other hand, in mixed gender units, group hypermasculinity was associated with a negative environment for spouses and a negative environment for women as coworkers. Across all groups, lower levels of group hypermasculinity and support for spouses were associated with a greater percentage of blacks in the group.

This study assessed the prevalence of risk for development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among active duty and reserve veterans from Pennsylvania and Hawaii who either deployed (N = 1,524) or did not deploy (N = 2,727) to the Persian Gulf as a result of Operation Desert Storm. All participants anonymously completed a survey questionnaire that included the Impact of Event Scale and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Results indicate the likelihood of PTSD symptoms in approximately 8.0% of active duty veterans and 9.3% of reserve veterans who deployed to the Persian Gulf. PTSD risk comparisons are made with other active duty Army veterans assessed 1 year earlier. Sources of trauma are presented and implications for future military deployments on potential risks for developing PTSD are discussed.

The relationship of intimate partner violence to psychological distress and the mediating or moderating effects of social support were examined among 99 married active duty Army women and 477 married active duty Army men. Although approximately 40% of both the men and the women had experienced physical partner violence in the past year, in neither group was physical violence correlated with psychological distress when controlling for other variables. Among women, psychological abuse inflicted by a partner was significantly associated with greater psychological distress. Among men, poor marital adjustment was associated with greater psychological distress. An unexpected significant interaction effect was found among women indicating that those who were violent toward their partners under conditions of high peer support experienced greater psychological distress.