An Examination of Within and Between Family Influences on the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence and Maltreatment

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant problem that results in long-term mental and physical health issues. Previous research has identified a wide range of factors that potentially contribute to IPV perpetration, with childhood and adolescent maltreatment being some of the more commonly examined sources of influence. Despite these contributions, maltreatment has not been adequately distinguished from additional sources of influence that tend to cluster within families, such as other adverse family experiences and genetic influences. The current study attempts to better isolate the influence of maltreatment on IPV perpetration through the use of a sibling sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Sibling comparison models are used to examine the association between maltreatment and IPV perpetration in adulthood. The results reveal that experiencing maltreatment in adolescence significantly increases the odds of engaging in various forms of IPV even after controlling for influences that cluster within families and other covariates such as victimization, socioeconomic status, and demographic characteristics. Childhood maltreatment, however, was not significantly associated with IPV perpetration in adulthood. The theoretical and policy implications of these findings are discussed in more detail