Spouse abuse by black and white offenders in the US Army

Black soldiers are overrepresented in the U.S. Army Central Registry of spo use abuse cases. For each year between 1989 and 1997, the number of black o ffendres outnumbers white offenders, while the white population outnumbers the black population. When age-specific rates per 1000 were computed, the r ates for blacks were greater than those for whites in every age group. The highest rates for both races were in the 18- to 21-year age group. Age-spec ific rate ratios between blacks and whites for 1997 ranged from 3.4 for the 18- to 21-year-old group to 1.9 for the 42- to 46-year age group. All of t he rate ratios except the one for the 42 to 46-year age group were statisti cally significant. Socioeconomic status (SES) is an unlikely explanation fo r these findings as SES was reasonably controlled Culturally specific longi tudinal studies are needed to clarify the reasons for differences in black and white spouse abuse incidents.