Child Abuse Perpetration among Men and Associations with Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence

Background/Objectives: A small body of work indicates that male perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) are more likely than other men to abuse children. To date, investigations have been limited based on female reports and generalizability of samples. This report offers findings from a large community-based study of men to inform these issues. Methods: Men ages 18-35 (N=1220) attending community health centers anonymously completed an automated computer-assisted survey instrument (ACASI), reporting perpetration of physical and sexual violence against children and adolescents and perpetration of physical and sexual IPV. Results: One-third of men (32.0%) reported perpetrating physical or sexual IPV, with 10.4% reporting perpetration of physical or sexual child abuse. Men reporting IPV perpetration were at greatly increased risk for perpetration of child physical abuse (ORadj 7.38, 95% CI 4.68, 11.62) and sexual abuse (ORadj 7.19, 95% CI 3.57, 14.47). Associations of differing forms of IPV with differing forms of child abuse, ages of children most at risk for abuse, and differences in risk for biologic vs. non-biologic children will also be presented. Discussion: Results will be discussed in the context of programmatic and policy implications for the safety of children of abused women. Findings are expected to improve our ability to identify the increased risk of abuse to children from men who abuse their mothers and responses to these interrelated threats.