Testing the Cycle of Violence Hypothesis: Child Abuse and Adolescent Partner Abuse as Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence in Young Adulthood

Anu Manchikanti Gómez, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Child abuse is an important determinant of future violence perpetration and victimization. Past research examining linkages between childhood abuse and adult intimate partner violence (IPV) has predominantly focused on married individuals. Data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health are used to examine the impact of child abuse and adolescent partner abuse on the likelihood of relationship violence victimization and perpetration in young adulthood. Child abuse and adolescent partner abuse are highly predictive of IPV and are not attenuated by parental or social factors. In regression models stratified by gender, child abuse and adolescent abuse are significant predictors of IPV victimization and perpetration for both males and females but the magnitude of these associations differs by gender. While the mechanism may vary for males and females, it appears that experiencing violence as a child and/or adolescent is highly predictive of relationship violence in young adulthood.