Military Volunteers More Likely To Have Experienced Childhood Trauma

Men and women who have served in the military were found to have a higher prevalence of adverse childhood events (ACEs), suggesting many join the military to escape adversity.

ACEs can have significant health repercussions in adult life such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies, The JAMA Network Journals reported.

Researchers compared the prevalence of ACEs among individuals without a history of military service with those who did using a behavioral risk surveillance system and telephone interviews.; the sample contained 60,000 people. The research team looked at ACEs in 11 categories including: " living with someone who is mentally ill, alcoholic or incarcerated, as well as witnessing partner violence, being physically abused, touched sexually or forced to have sex," the study reported.

In the sample 12.7 percent of individuals reported having served in the military: 24 percent of male participants reported service and two percent of females. The data showed men with a history of military service had a higher rate of ACEs than those who had not served in all 11 categories. Men with military experience reported twice the rate of sexual abuse as non-military participants. Military men also reported higher rates of: "being touched sexually (11 percent vs. 4.8 percent), being forced to touch another sexually (9.6 percent vs. 4.2 percent) and being forced to have sex (3.7 percent vs. 1.6 percent)," according to the journal.

The disparity between military and non-military women was not found to be as great. Women on both sides had similar odds for growing up in a house with alcohol abuse, exposure to domestic violence, and having been physically or emotionally abused. Women who served during the all-volunteer era were more likely to report having been sexually abused in childhood.

During the draft era the only difference between military and non-military men was exposure to household drug abuse; in this case men with military service had a lower rate of this type of exposure than men without.