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Cited by 192Intimate Partner and Family ViolenceChild Abuse and TraumaCrime Patterns and Interventions

Witness of Intimate Partner Violence in Childhood and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence in Adulthood

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Roberts, Andrea L., Gilman, Stephen E., Fitzmaurice, Garrett, Decker, Michele R., Koenen, Karestan C.·2010·Epidemiology
DOI 10.1097/ede.0b013e3181f39f03PMC PMC3108188
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: At least half a million women are victims of intimate partner violence in the United States annually, resulting in substantial harm. However, the etiology of violence to intimate partners is not well understood. Witnessing such violence in childhood has been proposed as a principal cause of adulthood perpetration, yet it remains unknown whether the association between witnessing intimate partner violence and adulthood perpetration is causal. METHOD: We conducted a propensity-score analysis of intimate partner violence perpetration to determine whether childhood witnessing is associated with perpetration in adulthood, independent of a wide range of potential confounding variables, and therefore might be a causal factor. We used data from 14,564 U.S. men ages 20 and older from the 2004-2005 wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. RESULTS: Nearly 4% of men reported violent behavior toward an intimate partner in the past year. In unadjusted models, we found a strong association between childhood witnessing of intimate partner violence and adulthood perpetration (for witnessing any intimate partner violence, risk ratio [RR] = 2.6 [95% confidence interval = 2.1-3.2]; for witnessing frequent or serious violence, 3.0 [2.3-3.9]). In propensity-score models, the association was substantially attenuated (for witnessing any intimate partner violence, adjusted RR = 1.6 [1.2-2.0]; for witnessing frequent or serious violence, 1.6 [1.2-2.3]). CONCLUSIONS: Men who witness intimate partner violence in childhood are more likely to commit such acts in adulthood, compared with men who are otherwise similar with respect to a large range of potential confounders. Etiological models of intimate partner violence perpetration should consider a constellation of childhood factors.

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  • Most studies have focused primarily on physical and sexual IPV exposure and perpetration rates among male populations.

    “Instead, most studies have focused primarily on physical and sexual IPV exposure and perpetration rates among male populations (Abrahams & Jewkes, 2005;Roberts et al., 2010;Smith et al., 2011).”

    From The Intergenerational Transmission of Emotional Intimate Partner Violence: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Roberts et al., 2010

    The Methods (Measures; page unavailable) describe a study of men’s childhood witnessing of physical IPV and their later perpetration; the perpetration measure also includes forced sex. The Abstract (Results; page unavailable) reports a perpetration rate among men. The paper does not establish that most studies focus on physical and sexual IPV exposure and perpetration among male populations, and its childhood IPV exposure measure does not include sexual violence. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The typically reported male-to-female perpetration dynamic is unlikely to represent the violence experienced by same-sex and transgender individuals and has historically focused more on physical and sexual perpetration patterns.

    “The typically reported male-tofemale perpetration dynamic is unlikely to represent the violence experienced by same-sex and transgender individuals and has historically focused more on physical and sexual perpetration patterns (Ehrensaft et al., 2003;Roberts et al., 2010).”

    From The Intergenerational Transmission of Emotional Intimate Partner Violence: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Roberts et al., 2010

    The Methods (Measures; page not available in our copy) define childhood exposure as male-to-female violence and measure adult perpetration through physical force and forced sex. This study exemplifies that focus, but it does not assess whether the dynamic represents violence experienced by same-sex or transgender individuals or establish a historical pattern across research. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Roberts, A. L., Gilman, S. E., Fitzmaurice, G., Decker, M. R., & Koenen, K. C.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
Corresponding author
Roberts, Andrea L.
ORCID
Venue
Epidemiology
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2010-11
Volume
21
Issue
6
Pages
809-818
ISSN
1044-3983 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/ede.0b013e3181f39f03
PMC
PMC3108188
OpenAlex
W2081128820
Cited by
192
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
FWCI
6.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH54693, T32MH017119, R01MH078928, K08MH070627, R01MH054693)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R03DA020887, R03DA20887)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
Keywords
intimate partner violence, intimate partner violence perpetration, men, causes of violence, causal relationship, propensity score matching
MeSH terms
Adult, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Sexual Partners, Causality, Domestic Violence

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