Intergenerational Continuities and Discontinuities in Intimate Partner Violence: A Two-Generational Prospective Study

This study focuses on intergenerational continuity in violent partner relationships. We investigate whether exposure to caregiver intimate partner violence (IPV) during adolescence leads to increased involvement in IPV during early adulthood (age 21-23) and adulthood (age 29-31). We also investigate whether this relationship differs by gender. Although there is theoretical and empirical support for intergenerational continuity of relationship violence, there are few prospective studies of this issue. We use data from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS), a longitudinal study of the development of antisocial behavior in a community sample of 1,000 urban youth followed from age 14 to adulthood. The original sample includes 73% men and 85% African American or Hispanic youth. Measures come from a combination of interviews and official records. The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) is used to assess IPV and severe IPV in the youth and parent generations. Analyses controlled for child physical abuse, race/ethnicity as well as parent education, family stability, and poverty. In multivariate models, adolescent exposure to caregiver severe IPV resulted in significantly increased risk of relationship violence in early adulthood (age 21-23). Furthermore, there is an indirect effect of adolescent exposure to severe IPV on later adult involvement in IPV (age 29-31), mediated by involvement in a violent relationship in early adulthood. These results were largely invariant by gender. However, we observed a direct pathway between IPV exposure and adult IPV for women (marginally significant) suggesting that adolescent exposure to caregiver IPV may set in motion women-specific processes.