Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Controversy exists over whether exposure to parents' intimate partner violence (IPV) predicts long-term adverse developmental outcomes for children similar to outcomes resulting from child maltreatment. Although prior research indicates that persons, usually males, involved in partner violence as adults disproportionately report exposure to family violence as children, very little prospective data has been used to investigate this issue. Often the impact of IPV is confounded with the impact of child maltreatment. The lack of clarity in understanding the role of partner violence in development has complicated efforts to intervene effectively. This goal of this study is to examine whether the prospective reports of IPV by caretakers of adolescent subjects predict subjects' own involvement in IPV in young adulthood. Data for this paper come from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS), a longitudinal investigation of the development of antisocial behavior in a community sample of 1,000 urban youth followed from age 13 to adulthood. The original sample is 73% male and 27% females, and 85% are African American or Hispanic youth. Measures come from a combination of interviews with parents (G1 or generation 1) youth (G2), and official records. The Conflict Tactics Scale is used to assess IPV. Measures of G1 IPV are reported by G2's caretakers – generally mothers - when G2 subjects are aged 14 to 16. Measures of G2 IPV come from CTS administered when G2 were young adults between the ages of 20 and 22. CTS scales used in this analysis include prevalence and frequency of physical violence and severe violence. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to investigate intergenerational continuities in IPV. Among G1 subjects with partners, there were high rates of IPV, with 39% reporting one or more acts of physical violence and 21% reporting severe violence in their relationships. Rates of perpetration or victimization were even higher among G2 young adult children: IPV occurred in 61% of these relationships, and severe violence was reported by 41%. Having a history of any G1 IPV did not predict partner violence in G2. However, evidence of intergenerational continuity in severe IPV was found: the prevalence of severe IPV is significantly higher among G2 subjects with a history of severe IPV in their families (60%) compared to those without such history (36%). This was confirmed in logistic regression which controlled for socioeconomic disadvantage as well as child abuse: having a history of severe parental IPV resulted in an odds ratio of 2.6, indicating that the odds of severe violence occurring in the relationships of these young adults was more than twice as high for those from families where severe violence occurred, compared to those without such history, controlling for several potential confounding factors. Young adults in a violent relationship are more likely to come from homes where IPV was present, but growing up in a violent home does not always predict violent relationships in the next generation. Implications for further research and intervention are discussed.