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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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With Parent Away at War, Child Abuse Increases

Stressed women more likely to mistreat kids

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(Newser) – Incidents of child abuse and neglect rise significantly when the Army's deployment of one spouse to war leaves the other worried at home, a study finds. An Army-funded report found female spouses four times more likely than males to mistreat their children; the Army has beefed up family-support services to help deal with the issue.

Overall, maltreatment—which can have long-term health consequences for victims—by males and females rose by 40% when one spouse was in combat, the LA Times reports. The most common form of mistreatment was neglect, ranging from lack of supervision to abandonment; emotional and physical abuse, a province of male soldiers, was found to decline during deployments.

Valerie Lauer, left, and Deb Lauer, of Meadville, Pa., wife and mother (respectively) of Army Spc. Timothy Lauer, react during a memorial ceremony in Harrisburg, Pa., Saturday, May 12, 2007, honoring soldiers who have died from the war in Iraq. Lauer, 25, of Saegertown, Pa., died Oct. 14, 2006, after...
Valerie Lauer, left, and Deb Lauer, of Meadville, Pa., wife and mother (respectively) of Army Spc. Timothy Lauer, react during a memorial ceremony in Harrisburg, Pa., Saturday, May 12, 2007, honoring...   (Associated Press)
Research indicates that the stresses of a military marriage severely increase the chances of child abuse and neglect.
Research indicates that the stresses of a military marriage severely increase the chances of child abuse and neglect.   (Shutterstock.com)
Sgt. Hugo Teixeira kisses his daughter Abeni, 9 months,  following a deployment ceremony for the Rhode Island Army National Guard's 169th Military Police Company in Warren, R.I., Thursday, July 5, 2007. Teixeira will be leaving his wife and three children behind in Pawtucket, R.I., as he joins the...
Sgt. Hugo Teixeira kisses his daughter Abeni, 9 months, following a deployment ceremony for the Rhode Island Army National Guard's 169th Military Police Company in Warren, R.I., Thursday, July 5, 2007....   (Associated Press)
Sgt. Bruce Harrington, from Buzzards Bay, Mass., comforts his wife Sheila Harrington following a deployment ceremony for the Rhode Island Army National Guard's 169th Military Police Company in Warren, R.I., Thursday, July 5, 2007. Harrington, on his first tour, will be training Iraqi police with the rest of the...
Sgt. Bruce Harrington, from Buzzards Bay, Mass., comforts his wife Sheila Harrington following a deployment ceremony for the Rhode Island Army National Guard's 169th Military Police Company in Warren,...   (Associated Press)
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