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

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.