Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Work-Family Conflict and Intimate Partner Violence in the South Korean Military: Mediating Role of Aggression and Buffering Effect of a Counseling Resource

  • Factors Related to Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence
  • Published:
Journal of Family Violence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to identify the relationship between work-family conflict (WFC) and intimate partner violence (IPV) among military personnel, and verify the mediating role of aggression and buffering effect of a counseling resource. A total of 293 married Korean Air Force personnel were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire; their responses were analyzed with a structural equation model. The major findings were that 36.9 % of respondents have perpetrated IPV, the prevalence of verbal violence was 33.4 % and physical violence was 16.0 %. Aggression mediated the important part of the association between WFC and IPV. Also, presence of a counseling resource attenuated the relationship between WFC and aggression. The findings suggest that it is necessary for the military to build a personnel counseling system to prevent spouse abuse, develop professional counseling services, and accurately identify aggression tendencies among military personnel.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bartol, C. R. (2002). Criminal behavior: A psychosocial approach. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, R., & Fernandez, E. (1998). Cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of anger: a meta-analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22(1), 63–74. doi:10.1023/A:1018763902991.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J. (1995). Moderating role of trait aggressiveness in the effects of violent media on aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 950–960. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.950.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, A. H., & Perry, M. (1992). The aggression questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(3), 452–459. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.63.3.452.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, C. L., Brown, E. J., & Okwara, L. (2011). Addressing sequelae of trauma and interpersonal violence in military children: a review of the literature and case illustration. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 18(1), 131–143. doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2010.03.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, D. S., Kacmar, K. M., & Williams, L. J. (2000). Construction and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56(2), 249–276. doi:10.1006/jvbe.1999.1713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, S. C., & Paik, J. A. (2006). The effect of work and family conflict on overall stress and job satisfaction among commuting workers. Family and Culture, 18(4), 157–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daley, J. G. (2003). Military social work. International Social Work, 46(4), 437–448. doi:10.1177/0020872803464002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Del Vecchio, T., & O’Leary, K. D. (2004). Effectiveness of anger treatments for specific anger problems: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 24(1), 15–34. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2003.09.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flynn, M., & Hassan, A. (2010). Guest editorial: unique challenges of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Journal of Social Work Education, 46(2), 169–173. doi:10.5175/JSWE.2010.334800002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foran, H. M., Slep, A. M. S., & Heyman, R. E. (2011). Prevalences of intimate partner violence in a representative US Air Force sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(3), 391–397. doi:10.1037/a0022962.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frey, L. M., Blackburn, K. M., Werner–Wilson, R. J., Parker, T., & Wood, N. D. (2011). Posttraumatic stress disorder, attachment, and intimate partner violence in a military sample: a preliminary analysis. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 23(3–4), 218–230. doi:10.1080/08952833.2011.604530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goff, B. S. N., Crow, J. R., Reisbig, A. M. J., & Hamilton, S. (2007). The impact of individual trauma symptoms of deployed soldiers on relationship satisfaction. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(3), 344–353. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.21.3.344.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gondolf, E. W. (2002). Batterer intervention systems: Issues, outcomes, and recommendations. Thousands Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., Allen, T. D., & Spector, P. E. (2006). Health consequences of work-family conflict: The dark side of the work-family interface. In P. L. Perrewe & D. C. Ganster (Eds.), Research in occupational stress and well-being (Vol. 5, pp. 61–98). Amsterdam: JAI Press/Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeong, H. H. (2010). The battle field stress management reality of the Korean Army and improvement casting plan. Korean Academy of Military Social Welfare, 3(1), 61–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A. D. (2012). Intimate partner violence in military couples: a review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(2), 147–157. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2011.12.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalmuss, D. S., & Straus, M. A. (1982). Wife’s marital dependency and wife abuse. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 44(2), 277–286.

  • Kim, E. M. (2010). A study on determination factors and types about re-employment of the retired soldiers: focusing on long-term retired soldiers. Korean Academy of Military Social Welfare, 3(1), 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, I., & Lee, M. (2011). Has South Korea’s engagement policy reduced North Korea’s provocations? North Korean Review, 7(2), 57–65. doi:10.3172/nkr.7.2.57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. Y., Choi, S. C., & Chung, Y. K. (2008). Impact of work-family conflict and stress on husband-to-wife violence: focused on male violence offenders. Journal of Korean Home Management Association, 26(1), 121–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwong, M. J., Bartholomew, K., Henderson, A. J. Z., & Trinke, S. J. (2003). The intergenerational transmission of relationship violence. Journal of Family Psychology, 17(3), 288–301. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.17.3.288.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y. G., & Choi, B. H. (2010). The Analysis of the Quality of Life(QOL) to Career Soldier Family. Korean Academy of Military Social Welfare, 3(2), 25–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lester, P., Peterson, K., Reeves, J., Knauss, L., Glover, D., Mogil, C., & Wilt, K. (2010). The long war and parental combat deployment: effects on military children and at-home spouses. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(4), 310–320. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2010.01.003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu, L., Kao, S.-F., Chang, T.-T., Wu, H.-P., & Cooper, C. L. (2011). Work/family demands, work flexibility, work/family conflict, and their consequences at work. International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, and Consultation, 1, 68–81. doi:10.1037/2157-3883.1.S.68.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 83–117. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.83.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R., Watson, D., & Wan, C. K. (2000). A three–factor model of trait anger: dimensions of affect, behavior, and cognition. Journal of Personality, 68(5), 869–897. doi:10.1111/1467-6494.00119.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, S. L., Gibbs, D. A., Johnson, R. E., Rentz, E. D., Clinton-Sherrod, M., & Hardison, J. (2007). Spouse abuse and child abuse by army soldiers. Journal of Family Violence, 22(7), 587–595. doi:10.1007/s10896-007-9110-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarroll, J. E., Ursano, R. J., Liu, X., Thayer, L. E., Newby, J. H., Norwood, A. E., & Fullerton, C. S. (2010). Deployment and the probability of spousal aggression by US Army soldiers. Military Medicine, 175(5), 352–356.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mehrabian, A. (1997). Relations among personality scales of aggression, violence, and empathy: validational evidence bearing on the risk of eruptive violence scale. Aggressive Behavior, 23(6), 433–445. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2337(1997)23:6<433::AID-AB3>3.0.CO;2-H.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melzer, S. A. (2002). Gender, work, and intimate violence: men’s occupational violence spillover and compensatory violence. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(4), 820–832. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00820.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mischel, W., & Shoda, Y. (1998). Reconciling processing dynamics and personality dispositions. Annual Review of Psychology, 49(1), 229–258. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.49.1.229.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peebles-Kleiger, M. J., & Kleiger, J. H. (1994). Re-integration stress for Desert Storm families: wartime deployments and family trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7(2), 173–194. doi:10.1007/BF02102943.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Presser, H. B. (2000). Nonstandard work schedules and marital instability. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62(1), 93–110. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00093.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Renshaw, K. D., Rodrigues, C. S., & Jones, D. H. (2008). Psychological symptoms and marital satisfaction in spouses of Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans: relationships with spouses’ perceptions of veterans’ experiences and symptoms. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(4), 586–594. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.22.3.586.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rentz, E. D., Martin, S. L., Gibbs, D. A., Clinton-Sherrod, M., Hardison, J., & Marshall, S. W. (2006). Family violence in the military. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 7(2), 93–108. doi:10.1177/1524838005285916.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt, N. (1996). Uses and abuses of coefficient alpha. Psychological Assessment, 8(4), 350–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spielberger, C. D., Jacobs, G., Russell, S., & Crane, R. S. (1983). Assessment of anger: The state-trait anger scale. In J. N. Butcher & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Advances in personality assessment (Vol. 2, pp. 159–187). Hillside: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Staines, G. L. (1980). Spillover versus compensation: a review of the literature on the relationship between work and nonwork. Human Relations, 33(2), 111–129. doi:10.1177/001872678003300203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stamm, S. (2009). Intimate partner violence in the military: securing our country, starting with the home. Family Court Review, 47(2), 321–339. doi:10.1111/j.1744-1617.2009.01257.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stemmler, G. (1997). Selective activation of traits: boundary conditions for the activation of anger. Personality and Individual Differences, 22(2), 213–233. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(96)00189-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: the conflict tactics (CT) scales. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41(1), 75–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. A., & Mickey, E. L. (2012). Reliability, validity, and prevalence of partner violence measured by the conflict tactics scales in male-dominant nations. Aggression and Violent Behavior. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2012.06.004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strazdins, L., Clements, M. S., Korda, R. J., Broom, D. H., & D’Souza, R. M. (2006). Unsociable work? Nonstandard work schedules, family relationships, and children’s well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68(2), 394–410. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00260.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teten, A. L., Sherman, M. D., & Han, X. (2009). Violence between therapy-seeking veterans and their partners prevalence and characteristics of nonviolent, mutually violent, and one-sided violent couples. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(1), 111–127. doi:10.1177/0886260508315782.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seok In Nam.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Seo, J.Y., Lloyd, D.A. & Nam, S.I. Work-Family Conflict and Intimate Partner Violence in the South Korean Military: Mediating Role of Aggression and Buffering Effect of a Counseling Resource. J Fam Viol 29, 839–847 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-014-9641-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-014-9641-2

Keywords

Navigation