183079 Childhood family violence and perpetration of intimate partner violence: Findings from a national population-based study of couples

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Christy M. McKinney, PhD, MPH , Dallas Regional Campus, University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas, TX
Raul Caetano, MD, PhD , Dallas Regional Campus, University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Dallas, TX
Suhasini Ramisetty-Mikler, PhD, MPH , Dallas Regional Campus, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Dallas, TX
Scott Nelson, PhD , Dallas Group Analytic Practice, Dallas, TX
Little is known about the relationship between a history of childhood family violence and perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV). To examine this question, we used data from a multistage cluster sample survey of 1,615 couples from the US household population. Childhood family violence measures included moderate and severe child physical abuse and witnessing interparental threats of violence or physical violence. IPV was categorized as non-reciprocal male-to-female-partner violence (MFPV), non-reciprocal female-to-male-partner violence (FMPV); reciprocal IPV (MFPV and FMPV) and no IPV. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between childhood family violence and IPV. Compared to men with no childhood family violence history, men who experienced moderate (adjusted OR [AOR] 3.9, 95% CI: 1.3, 11.8) or severe (AOR 4.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 19.3) childhood physical abuse were at increased risk of non-reciprocal MFPV; men who experienced severe childhood physical abuse or witnessed interparental violence were twice as likely to engage in reciprocal IPV. Relative to women with no childhood family violence history, women who witnessed interparental threats of violence (AOR 1.9, 95% CI: 0.8, 4.6) or interparental physical violence (AOR 3.4, 95% CI: 1.5, 7.9) in childhood were at increased risk of non-reciprocal FMPV; women exposed to any type of childhood family violence were 1.5 times more likely to engage in reciprocal IPV. We provide new evidence that childhood family violence is positively associated with perpetration of non-reciprocal and reciprocal IPV.

Learning Objectives:
1. Delineate between perpetration and victimization of intimate partner violence (IPV) and reciprocal and non-reciprocal IPV. 2. Articulate the relationship between gender-specific childhood family violence and gender-specific non-reciprocal IPV. 3. Describe the relationship between gender-specific childhood family violence and reciprocal IPV and its importance.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Battered Women

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I devised the question and analysis plan. I conducted the analysis and wrote the paper describing the findings. I am the primary author responsible for this work.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.