A Comparison of Spousal Aggression Prevalence Rates in U.S. Army and Civilian Representative Samples

This study compared prevalence rates from reasonably representative U.S. Army ( N = 33,762) and civilian ( N = 3,044) samples. Age and race were controlled by weighting each sample to 1990 U.S. Census characteristics for married, full-time employed persons. Men's reports of moderate husband-to-wife spousal aggression were not significantly higher, but reports of severe aggression were significantly higher in the standardized Army sample than in the comparable civilian sample (adjusted rates of 2.5% vs. 0.7%, respectively). Thus, controlling for age and race results in reasonably similar prevalence rates. Future studies that more carefully control for any background differences in military and civilian respondents could discern whether military service adds any increased risk for partner violence.