Pathways from aggression in childhood to family violence and poor health in adulthood : a 30-year longitudinal study

The present investigation, comprised of two studies, was aimed at investigating one homotypic and one heterotypic outcome of childhood aggression. Study 1 examined the outcome of family violence, which is a homotypic outcome of aggression in childhood. Study 2 examined the heterotypic outcomes of adult health service usage and medical visits due to several health problems. Utilizing the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a study of individuals recruited as children in the 1970s from inner-city schools in Montreal, this study examined different pathways whereby aggressive behavioral styles in childhood may place individuals at risk for continuing patterns of violence towards children and spouses as well as poor adult health outcomes. In Study 1, childhood aggression directly predicted self-reported violence towards spouse for both sexes, with indirect routes through lowered educational attainment and marital separation. Aggression in childhood was also found to predict parents' self-reports of using violence with their children. For mothers, educational attainment and current absence of the biological father from the child's home also played important roles in predicting violent behavior towards offspring. Findings from this study provide evidence of both continuity of aggressive behavior and indirect risk paths to family violence, via lower educational attainment and parental absence. In Study 2, childhood aggression was also found to directly and positively predict medical service usage, as well as medical visits due to lifestyle-related illnesses, injuries and obstetric and gynecological problems, with indirect paths through educational attainment also present. Taken together, findings from these studies suggest that for both men and women, childhood aggression may be an identifiable precursor of family violence, child abuse, poor health and subsequent intergenerational risk to offspring