Parental Intimate Partner Violence, Parenting Practices, and Adolescent Peer Bullying: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been recognized as a major public health concern, with millions of children exposed to parental violence each year. Childhood exposure to parental violence has been linked to both maladaptive parenting practices and a host of adjustment difficulties in the exposed children. The Children in the Community Study followed a representative sample of youth, their parents, and their own offspring for over 25 years, in seven separate assessments. The current study examined the association between reports of IPV and parenting practices among original study members (Generation 2; N = 396) and their adolescent offspring’s (Generation 3; N = 129, M age = 12.8 (2.4), range = 10–18) reports of overt and relational bullying and victimization behaviors on average 6–7 years later. Results indicate that parental reports of any IPV predicted higher offspring overt peer victimization, while severe IPV predicted higher offspring relational peer bullying and overt peer victimization. For female offspring, any IPV predicted higher relational peer victimization and for male offspring, severe IPV predicted higher overt peer bullying. Parenting practices did not significantly mediate the association between IPV and peer bullying or victimization. Implications for prevention and directions for future research are discussed.