Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration In Adulthood Research Articles

Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence in Childhood and Partner Violence Perpetration in Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Aggression

ABSTRACT Although different studies have found that exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) in childhood is linked to IPV perpetration in adulthood, others have revealed null effects. Previous research has also found that some factors might mediate the relationship between exposure to IPV in childhood and later IPV perpetration. As far as we know, no studies examined the role of aggression in this relationship. This study aimed to analyze the link between exposure to IPV in childhood and IPV perpetration in adulthood and verify whether this relationship was mediated by aggression and its components (verbal and physical aggression, anger, and hostility). Two hundred and forty five men convicted of domestic violence, from prison and community, were recruited. Correlation analysis revealed a positive link between exposure to IPV in childhood, aggression traits, and specifically physical aggression, and IPV frequency in adulthood. Overall aggression traits and physical aggression traits were statistically significant mediator variables explaining almost 15% of the overall effect of exposure to IPV in childhood on overall IPV frequency in adulthood. These findings unravel the role of aggression in the perpetration of physical and total IPV, claiming our attention to the need to include strategies to increase emotion regulation and problem-solving strategies in intervention programs.

Gender‐Equitable Parental Decision Making and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration in Bangladesh

ObjectiveThis article examines the relationship between the exposure of men as children to gender‐equitable parental decision making and the potential for subsequent later life engagement in intimate partner violence (IPV) in Bangladesh.BackgroundAlthough researchers have recently begun to explore multilevel influences on IPV perpetration, no studies have examined how decision making between parents at home and within the community relates to IPV perpetration in low‐income settings. Drawing on a theoretical framework of gendered social learning, gender‐equitable parental decision making may be an important protective factor against IPV.MethodThis study uses a random probability sample of 1,499 married men in Bangladesh. The main outcome is physical IPV perpetration in adulthood, whereas two exposure variables measure the equity of parental decision making in the man's childhood home and his current community. A series of two‐level negative binomial models, controlling for pertinent individual‐ and community‐level factors, are estimated.ResultsExposure in childhood to more equitable decision making between parents is negatively associated with a man's physical IPV perpetration in adulthood. Gender‐equitable parental decision making within one's current community is not significantly associated with IPV.ConclusionBoys who grow up exposed to more equitable decision making between parents in the home may be less likely to engage in physical IPV perpetration as an adult.

Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration among Sri Lankan Men.

In Sri Lanka, over one in three women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in their lifetime, making it a serious public health concern. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as child abuse and neglect, witnessing domestic violence, parental separation, and bullying are also widespread. Studies in Western settings have shown positive associations between ACEs and IPV perpetration in adulthood, but few have examined this relationship in a non-Western context. In the present study, we examined the association of ACEs with IPV perpetration among Sri Lankan men surveyed for the UN Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific. We found statistically significant positive associations between the number of ACE categories (ACE score) and emotional, financial, physical, and sexual IPV perpetration among Sri Lankan men. We analyzed the contributions of each ACE category and found that childhood abuse was strongly associated with perpetration of IPV in adulthood, with sexual abuse associated with the greatest increase in odds of perpetration (Adjusted odds ratio 2.36; 95% confidence interval: 1.69, 3.30). Witnessing abuse of one’s mother was associated with the greatest increase in the odds of perpetrating physical IPV (AOR 1.82; 95% CI: 1.29, 2.58), while lack of a male parental figure was not associated with physical IPV perpetration (AOR 0.76; 95% CI: 0.53, 1.09). These findings support a social learning theory of IPV perpetration, in which children who are exposed to violence learn to perpetrate IPV in adulthood. They also suggest that in Sri Lanka, being raised in a female-headed household does not increase the risk of IPV perpetration in adulthood compared to being raised in a household with a male parental figure. The relationship between being raised in a female-headed household (the number of which increased dramatically during Sri Lanka’s recent civil war) and perpetration of IPV warrants further study. Interventions that aim to decrease childhood abuse in Sri Lanka could both protect children now and reduce IPV in the future, decreasing violence on multiple fronts.