Parents' Marital Violence

Abstract

This study uses longitudinal data from two sources (parents and their adult offspring) to determine the long-term consequences of marital violence for children. The authors find that parents' reports of marital violence between 1980 and 1988 (when children were between the ages of 11 and 19, on average) predict offspring's reports of negative outcomes in early adulthood, including poorer parent-child relationships, lower psychological well-being, and more violence within their own relationships. Most of these associations are independent of parents' nonviolent conflict, divorce, self-reported abusive behavior toward children, and alcohol/drug use.