Ripple effect

Study: Child abuse, troop deployment linked

Robert Davis and Gregg Zoroya
USA TODAY

Sending soldiers to war puts their children left at home at higher risk of abuse and neglect, says a study out Tuesday.

The study among military families shows that reports of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and child neglect peaked during the main deployment of troops to Iraq. When deployments began, reports of abuse quickly jumped from 5 in 1,000 children to 10 in 1,000.