Risk factors for intimate partner violence and abuse among adolescents and young adults: findings from a UK population-based cohort

Abstract

Background: Approximately one-third of young people in the UK have suffered intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) on reaching adulthood. We need interventions to prevent IPVA in this population, but there is a lack of evidence on who is at greatest risk. Methods: We analysed questionnaire data from 3,279 participants of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children population-based birth cohort. We estimated the prevalence of IPVA victimisation and perpetration by age 21, by sex, demographic, parenting, mental health, externalising behaviour (e.g. smoking), educational, employment, and adverse childhood factors. Results: Overall, 29% of males and 41% of females reported IPVA victimisation, with 20% and 25% reporting perpetration, respectively (16% and 22% both). The most common sub-type was emotional, followed by physical, then sexual. History of self-harm, anti-social behaviour, cannabis or illicit (non-cannabis) drug use among males and females were associated with a two-fold increase in likelihood of IPVA (victimisation or perpetration). Males reporting risky sexual behaviour, sexual abuse (not by an intimate partner), or witnessing domestic violence, and females reporting sexual minority status in adolescence were also twice as likely to experience IPVA. Extreme parental monitoring during adolescence was associated with a reduced risk of IPVA in males and females, as was high academic achievement, and NEET (not being in education, employment, or training) status for young adult men. Conclusions: A range of demographic, mental health, and behavioural factors were associated with increased prevalence of IPVA victimisation or perpetration. Further study of likely complex pathways from these factors to IPVA, to inform primary prevention, is needed.

Categories of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse Among Young Women and Men: Latent Class Analysis of Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Victimization and Perpetration in a UK Birth Cohort

“…We analysed data on 3279 young people who were part of the ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, formerly ‘Children of the 90s’) birth cohort study, and who had answered questions relating to IPVA (delivered in online and paper form) at 21 years old. Demographic, behavioural, and health characteristics of this sample are described in Herbert et al, Extended Data, Table C ( Herbert et al, 2021 ). Briefly, two-thirds were female, with a median age of 21 years (interquartile range: 21–22); women and men were more likely to be of low socioeconomic deprivation levels than high (e.g.…”

“…Among young people in the UK, it is estimated that one-third to three-quarters are exposed to Interpersonal Violence and Abuse (IPVA) victimization by 21 years old, and one fifth perpetrate IPVA ( Barter, 2009 ; Herbert et al, 2021 ; Young et al, 2018 , 2019 ). Evidence mainly from north America suggests poor mental and physical outcomes in young people who experience IPVA ( Goncy et al, 2017 ; Haynie et al, 2013 ; Sessarego et al, 2021 ), and so effective interventions for its prevention and related outcomes are needed ( Barter & Stanley, 2016 ; Campbell et al, 2002 ).…”

“…Yet patterns of IPVA victimization in the UK context are poorly understood. Researchers have measured the prevalence of IPVA in the UK either as a binary concept, or of different types such as psychological or physical IPVA, alone ( Barter, 2009 ; Herbert et al, 2021 ; Young et al, 2018 , 2019 ), but we do not yet know the extent to which different types of IPVA co-occur for the same individual. Understanding co-occurrence and the potential differential impact of different combinations of abuse is crucial for developing interventions to support people experiencing IPVA and for its prevention.…”

“…In addition, it has been argued that severity, frequency, and impact of IPVA are important aspects of IPVA to consider, particularly in exploring IPVA by sex ( Bacchus et al, 2018 ; Hegarty et al, 2012 ; Hester et al, 2010 ; Walby & Allen, 2004 ; Walby & Towers, 2018 ). For example, prevalence of psychological IPVA may not be ‘gendered’, but the potential health damage of continuous coercive control is ( Finkelhor et al, 2007 ; Herbert et al, 2021 ; Walby & Towers, 2018 ). A more differentiated categorization of IPVA victimization, considering types, severity, frequency and impact, is needed to evaluate its impact on individuals and families.…”

The impact of sexual violence in mid-adolescence on mental health: a UK population-based longitudinal study.

“…8 The available evidence on the impact of sexual violence in mid-adolescence on mental health is scarce, as much attention pre-adulthood has been given to adverse childhood experiences, including sexual abuse earlier in childhood, 9,10 experiences of sexual violence in the university and college environment, 11,12 and intimate partner violence in older adolescent age groups. 13 Several existing studies we identified that focused on mid-adolescence, an age at which many begin to experience increasing levels of sexual harassment and assault after puberty, are limited in their ability to make assumptions on the population level impacts of sexual violence due to either the use of selective samples, such as those recruited from sexual assault referral centres, 14 the examination of crosssectional associations, 15,16 or the use of retrospective recollections of both violence experienced and its perceived subsequent impact on mental health. 8,17 As for the studies with any longitudinal examination, these were limited to convenience samples in some North American school settings, 18,19 and do not include relevant wider and earlier life factors that might be important confounders of this relationship.…”