Witnessing Intimate Partner Violence as a Child Does Not Increase the Likelihood of Becoming an Adult Intimate Partner Violence Victim

Abstract

Objectives: To determine whether adults who witnessed intimate partner violence (IPV) as children would have an increased rate of being victims of ongoing IPV, as measured by the Ongoing Violence Assessment Tool (OVAT), compared with adult controls who did not witness IPV as children. The authors also sought to determine whether there were differences in demographics in these two groups.Methods: This was a cross sectional cohort study of patients presenting to a high-volume academic emergency department. Emergency department patients presenting from November 16, 2005, to January 5, 2006, during 46 randomized four-hour shifts were included. A confidential computer touch-screen data entry program was used for collecting demographic data, including witnessing IPV as a child and the OVAT. Main outcome measures were witnessing IPV as a child, ongoing IPV, and associated demographics. Assuming a prevalence of IPV of 20% and a clinically significant difference of 20% between adults who witnessed IPV as children and adult controls who did not witness IPV as children, the study was powered at 80%, with 215 subjects included.Results: A total of 280 subjects were entered; 256 had complete data sets. Forty-nine percent of subjects were male, 45% were Hispanic, 72 (28%) were adults who witnessed IPV as children, and 184 (72%) were adult controls who did not witness IPV as children. Sixty-three (23.5%) were positive for ongoing IPV. There was no correlation of adults who witnessed IPV as children with the presence of ongoing IPV, as determined by univariate and bivariate analysis. Twenty-three of 72 (32%) of the adults who witnessed IPV as children, and 39 of 184 (21%) of the adult controls who did not witness IPV as children, were positive for IPV (difference, 11%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = À2% to 23%). Significant correlations with having witnessed IPV as a child included age younger than 40 years (odds ratio [OR], 4.2; 95% CI = 1.7 to 9.1), income less than $20,000/year (OR, 5.1; 95% CI = 1.6 to 12.5), and abuse as a child (OR, 9.1; 95% CI = 4.2 to 19.6). Other demographics were not significantly correlated with having witnessed IPV as a child.Conclusions: Adults who witnessed IPV as children were more likely to have a lower income, be younger, and have been abused as a child, but not more likely to be positive for ongoing IPV, when compared with patients who had not witnessed IPV. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2007; 14:411-418 ª 2007 by the Society for Academic Emergency MedicineKeywords: intimate partner violence, child witness of intimate partner violence, adult child witness I ntimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as persistent physical abuse by one adult on another, both of whom are involved in an intimate relationship with the other as a spouse or a partner.1 Studies suggest that 8%-12% of all women experience some form of IPV in any given year, and approximately 20%-50% of

Childhood experiences of interparental violence as a risk factor for intimate partner violence: a population-based study from northern Vietnam

“…Ernst and colleagues,32 however, found no correlation of adults who witnessed IPV as children with the presence of adult IPV in a patient-focused study performed at an emergency unit with an admittedly small sample size (140 women). A recent study from the USA interestingly found that women who witnessed interparental physical violence during childhood were at an increased risk of using violence towards their partner and of reciprocal IPV 33.…”

Domestic violence offending behaviors: A review of the literature examining childhood exposure, implicit theories, trait aggression and anger rumination as predictive factors

“…distorted cognitions about relationships, hostile attitudes and beliefs) (e.g. Capaldi et al, 2012;Costa et al, 2015;Eckhardt & Cane, 2014;Ernst et al, 2007;Howard et al, 2010;Mbilinyi et al, 2012;Murrell, Christoff, & Henning, 2007;Roehl & Guertin, 2014;Stuart et al, 2013;Trevillion, Oram, Feder, & Howard, 2012;Whitfield et al, 2003). Among these factors, the exposure to DV during childhood has been one of the most prevalent predictors for DV perpetration (e.g.…”

Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence on Child Witnesses: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…Socioeconomic status, particularly when associated with child neglect during boyhood, is associated with perpetration of IPV when the boy grows to adulthood (Bevan & Higgins, 2002). Ernst et al. (2007) found that witnessing IPV was associated with low income (less than $20,000/year).…”

“…Not all authors agree, however. Ernst et al. (2007) found that while children who witnessed IPV tended to have lower income, be younger, and experience abuse as a child, they were not positive for ongoing IPV during adulthood as compared with those who had witnessed IPV as a child.…”