Childhood Maltreatment Increases the Risk of Intimate Partner Violence via PTSD and Anger Personality Traits in Individuals Consulting for Sexual Problems

Abstract

Childhood maltreatment is a significant risk factor for the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) in adulthood. This study tested, in a clinical sample, a conceptual model suggesting that childhood maltreatment contributes to the development of anger personality traits, directly and indirectly via posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that anger personality traits, in turn, are associated with IPV. Adults consulting for sex therapy ( n = 114) completed self-report measures of childhood maltreatment, PTSD, anger, and IPV. Participants were exposed to high rates of childhood maltreatment (83%). Path analysis supported the hypothesized model: Exposure to child maltreatment was associated with anger personality traits, and this association was partially mediated by PTSD symptoms. Anger personality traits were highly correlated with IPV.

Childhood physical abuse and physical dating violence in young adulthood: The mediating role of adverse mental health

“…It was found that individuals who are victims of childhood physical abuse are more likely to suffer from PTSD symptoms, and in turn face greater risks of experiencing and perpetrating physical DV in young adulthood. The identification of the mediating role of PTSD between childhood physical abuse and physical DV perpetration is consistent with prior research (Berthelot et al, ). A possible explanation is that PTSD is associated with overactive threat appraisals (Chemtob, Novaco, Harnada, Gross, & Smith, ).…”

“…Several limitations should be noted. First, consistent with prior research (Berthelot et al, 2014;Stevens et al, 2013), childhood physical abuse was measured through retrospective self-report when participants reached the age of 18, which may have been impacted by retrospective recall bias. Additionally, participants were asked to reflect on mental health using different time frames (e.g., PTSD in the past month, depressive symptoms in the past week, and anxiety in general).…”

“…Identifying modifiable factors that mediate the association between childhood physical abuse and physical DV afford opportunities to reduce the detrimental effects of this form of maltreatment and potentially decrease the risks of physical DV. Indeed, several studies have attempted to identify factors that mediate the link between childhood physical abuse and DV, including physical DV (e.g., Berthelot et al, ; Brown, Perera, Masho, Mezuk, & Cohen, ; Cascardi, ; Faulkner, Goldstein, & Wekerle, ; Fiorillo, Papa, & Follette, ). Adverse mental health, which is strongly associated with both DV (Chan, Straus, Brownridge, Tiwari, & Leung, ; Exner‐Cortens et al, ) and childhood physical abuse (Ozer, Best, Lipsey, & Weiss, ; Scott, Smith, & Ellis, ; Springer et al, ; Stevens et al, ) is a possible mediator.…”

“…A few studies indicate that experiencing childhood abuse resulted in trauma symptoms and, in turn, trauma symptoms predicted general DV perpetration among high school students (Wolfe, Wekerle, Scott, Straatman, & Grasley, ), youth involved with child protective services (Wekerle et al, , ), and teens from families involved in the juvenile justice system (Jouriles, Mueller, Rosenfield, McDonald, & Dodson, ). A clinical sample of adults seeking therapy for sexual dysfunction revealed that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms mediated the link between childhood maltreatment (physical and emotional abuse) and anger personality traits, and anger personality traits further linked to intimate partner violence perpetration (combination of physical and psychological violence; Berthelot et al, ). Overall, these findings suggest a possible mediating role of adverse mental health in explaining the link between childhood physical abuse and subsequent physical DV perpetration.…”

“…Iverson et al (2014) found that anger-related dysregulation mediated the association between childhood physical abuse and physical DV victimization in young adulthood. However, for both DV perpetration and victimization, most studies have utilized cross-sectional data (Berthelot et al, 2014;Iverson et al, 2014;Wekerle et al, 2009Wekerle et al, , 2001, which limits the ability to interpret the directionality of associations.…”