Child Exposure to Family Violence in Two Generations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a complex and significant public health problem with adverse physical and mental health consequences not only for the adults involved but also for the children who are exposed to IPV. This study examines the intergenerational transmission of violence exposure and the developmental risk (e.g., exposure to IPV during childhood) that parents bring into their children’s environments. The study is unique for its inclusion of mother- and father-to-child aggression and interparent dyadic IPV using self- and partner reports in two generations to understand the impact of children’s exposure to violence on child adjustment.  

At enrollment into the Oregon Youth Study (OYS) in Grade 4, the participants (N = 206 boys) were at risk for delinquency (by virtue of living in neighborhoods with relatively high rates of juvenile arrests) and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. When the OYS participants became biological fathers, their first two children and the children’s mothers (even if the couple separated) were invited to participate in a Three Generational Study (N = 125 men/children’s fathers, 132 children’s mothers, and 265 children that were 24% racial/ethnic minority).

Using prospective longitudinal data, we examined the extent to which men’s exposure to interparent IPV and parent aggression in their families-of-origin increased the occurrence of IPV toward their romantic partners as adults and thus their children’s exposure to IPV. Of the men, 95% were exposed to interparent psychological IPV (89% bidirectional), 39% to interparent physical IPV (18% bidirectional), 89% to parent-to-child psychological aggression (72% from both parents), and 29% to parent-to-child physical aggression (17% from both parents) as children. Much of the family violence that took place involved mothers and fathers. When the men were adults, 89% perpetrated psychological IPV and 26% perpetrated physical IPV toward a romantic partner or spouse thus exposing their offspring to interparent IPV. Preliminary findings indicate that exposure to family violence in childhood increased the risk for IPV in adulthood and offspring exposure to IPV. For example, when offspring were age 5, men’s exposure to higher levels of father interparent physical IPV was associated with higher levels of psychological IPV perpetration, r = .26, p < .05, and men’s exposure to higher levels of father- and mother-to-child physical aggression was associated with higher levels of physical IPV perpetration, r = .26, p < .05 and r = .23, p < .05, respectively. Using more sophisticated analyses, we will also examine, for example, exposure to interparent bidirectional IPV and the co-occurrence of interparent IPV and parent aggression as well as offspring exposure to parent aggression.