Trajectories of Exposure to Psychological Domestic Abuse and the Relevance of Differential Development for Predicting Violent Offending in Adulthood

Abstract

This study sought to examine patterns of change and continuity in psychological domestic abuse as a strain-related process that may be predictive of violent offending in adulthood. This study also examined the mediating role of negative affect in this relationship. The Pathways to Desistance data were utilized in analyses. This sample comprised 1,354 juvenile offenders. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify latent patterns of development in exposure to psychological domestic abuse. Negative binomial regression models were used to examine the direct effect of trajectory group assignment on violent offending in adulthood and the mediating role of negative affect. Results indicated that a four-group model best fit the data. Assignment to the Declining group was associated with decreased violent offending seriousness in adulthood, relative to assignment to the Accelerating group. Negative affect partially mediated this relationship, accounting for around 35% of magnitude of the direct effect observed.