Childhood maltreatment and risk of intimate partner violence: A national study

Abstract

Objective Prior research indicates that different types of childhood maltreatment frequently co-occur and confer risk for adulthood intimate partner violence (IPV). However, it is unknown whether the risk of IPV is due to specific type(s) of maltreatment or to their shared association or both. Although these competing explanations have different implications for intervention, they have never been evaluated empirically. Method Data were drawn from a nationally representative survey of 34,653 US adults, the 2004–2005 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Structural equation modeling was used to simultaneously examine the shared and specific effects of five types of childhood maltreatment (i.e., sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse and neglect) on the risk of different IPV behaviors (i.e., perpetration, victimization and reciprocal violence). Analyses were stratified by sex and adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., age, personal income, educational background and race/ethnicity). Results Most types of childhood maltreatment increased the risk of victimization, perpetration and reciprocal violence. Effects of maltreatment types on each IPV behavior were exerted mostly through a latent factor representing the shared effect across all different types of maltreatment in both sexes (CFI=0.990, TLI=0.990, RMSEA=0.023), although sexual abuse had an additional effect on victimization. Conclusions Because childhood maltreatment types increase the risk of each intimate partner violence behavior mainly through a general maltreatment dimension, underlying biological and developmental-ecological mechanisms should be considered important targets of prevention for both victimization and perpetration of abuse in adult relationships.

The relationships between harsh physical punishment and child maltreatment in childhood and intimate partner violence in adulthood

“…Previous research has found that a child maltreatment history is associated with increased odds of violence in an intimate relationship in adulthood [2, 51]. It is possible that a similar association also exists for harsh physical punishment and violence in adult intimate relationships.…”

Transnational Motherhood: Health of Hispanic Mothers in the United States Who Are Separated From Children

“…The finding that mothers with separations had higher levels of lifetime abuse, but were not more likely to have other syndemic indicators, particularly depression, substance use, sexual risk, or current partner violence, is noteworthy given that childhood and adult abuse have been linked to depression, substance abuse, and partner violence (e.g., McMahon et al, 2015; Shapero et al, 2014; Swogger, Conner, Walsh, & Maisto, 2011) later in life. Moreover, the mothers separated from children reported higher levels of stress, which one would also expect to be associated with untoward mental health outcomes (Brabeck, Lykes, & Hunter, 2014).…”

Integrating Trauma‐Informed Care Into Maternity Care Practice: Conceptual and Practical Issues

“…Such factors are also independently associated with adversity and add to the complexity of the situation. Maltreatment and adversity are also a risk for adult revictimization . Substance use and smoking is broadly understood to be self‐medicating behavior that is an effort to treat symptoms of noxious traumatic stress .…”

“…Maltreatment and adversity are also a risk for adult revictimization. 42 Substance use and smoking is broadly understood to be self-medicating behavior that is an effort to treat symptoms of noxious traumatic stress. 43 The impact of PTSD on adverse perinatal outcomes is not entirely explained by these risk exposures, however.…”